BEES KNEES
Hot on the heels of new single Nothing To Do, Gold Coast’s garage-pop bombshells
Bleeding Knees Club are psyched to announce their Australian album-release tour,
where they’ll be joined by fellow Queensland slackers Dune Rats. Recently named by
NME as one of the 100 New Bands To Watch in 2012, catch them Wednesday 25 April
at the Indi Bar; Thursday 26 at Prince Of Wales, Bunbury; Friday 27 at Amplifier; and
Saturday 28 at Mojo’s as part of their Street Press Australia-supported new album tour.
Bleedingkneesclub.com for tickets.

THE ASTON SHUFFLE

SETS SAILS AWAY
It feels like just yesterday we were announcing the first Sets On The Beach for
the summer, and after another killer bout last weekend we’re already up to the last.
Predictably, it’s a doozy. Say goodbye to summer Sunday 25 March at the Scarborough
Beach Amphitheatre to the musical backing of electro duo The Aston Shuffle, partyrockers Yacht Club DJs, party prince Ajax, mash-up madman Sampology, disco
enthusiasts Canyons (live) and indie-poppers New Navy, with locals TBA. Final release
$56 plus BF via the usuals.

In case you’ve been under
a rock, Fringe World
Festival was amazing
– over 180,000 patrons
catching events over the
two weeks. It wrapped
up last weekend, with
Rachael Dease’s City Of
Shadows taking out the
inaugural $10,000 Martin
Sims Award for most
promising West Australian
Work. Head to Fringeworld.
com.au for all the winners.
Fringe’s awesomeness
lives on through
Artrage though, when
Rooftop Movies begins
Wednesday 29 February
on the roof of the Roe St
Car Park, Northbridge,
rooftopmovies.com.au for
more info, including live
jazz, bands, themed double
sessions and more, all
within the coolest sounding
setup out.
Jessye Norman has
cancelled her Aus’ tour
(Monday 23 April, Perth
Concert Hall); Mickey
Avalon has re-scheduled
his March tour, now playing
the Rosemount Hotel
Saturday 26 May; and
the March 10 Fremantle
Arts Centre show for Chic
feat. Nile Rodgers has
been cancelled due to
disappointing sales.
Global social networking
platform YuuZoo has
launched a band comp,
The Break, giving bands a
chance to play Bamboozle
Festival in New Jersey.
Head to thebreakcontest.
com for info on how you
can join the likes of Bon
Jovi and Skrillex.
So You Think You Can
Dance/Celebrity Apprentice
dude Jason Coleman
has launched independent
record label Groove Pill
Records.
Congrats to Street Press
Australia journalist Lochlan
Watt who will be the new
host of triple j’s The Racket.

BLUEJUICE

GOOD COMPANY
As 2011 closed, Bluejuice dropped their third album Company, a high energy, wellcrafted, pop music anthology that sets Bluejuice further apart from both their peers and
current music trends. It left behind the genre-hopping that some felt had compromised
their earlier records, and it delivered on their long-term live appeal. They play Settlers
Tavern, Margaret River Thursday 19 April; and Capitol Friday 20. $25 via Moshtix,
Heatseeker and Oztix, $30 door. Special guests Loon Lake and The Cairos heading this
way as well for this Street Press Australia-presented triple-header.
FREESTYLERS

Over the past three years, Villa has brought some killer shows including The Stanton
Warriors, Krafty Kuts, Plump DJs and Steve Aoki, and they keep the ball rolling to
celebrate turning three with some help from one of the original finger-lickin’ crew,
Freestylers. In addition they’re supported by crazed German Marten Hørger, his own
club night Stamina just turning 10. DNGRFLD and Black & Blunt support this broken biz
Thursday 5 April, $35 plus BF via Moshtix/Boomtick.
6 • THE DRUM MEDIA

DARWIN DEEZ NUTS
To celebrate the release of their new CD/DVD package F#*k
The World, Deez Nuts take on their first Australian tour in
almost a year, joined by one of Sydney’s finest heavy hitters
in Phantoms. It’ll be their last for a while before they jet off
to write and record their third studio album. Saturday 21
April they play Amplifier; and again Sunday 22 when they
play YMCA HQ, Leederville, in a special ALL-AGES affair.
Tickets via Heatseeker, Moshtix and Oztix.
HUSKY

SUB HUSKY
Melbourne band Husky will be the first-ever Australian
group to be signed to Sub Pop, joining the likes of Fleet
Foxes and Beach House, and grunge legends Nirvana and
Soundgarden. They’re obviously pretty chuffed about it, and
are hitting both the international and national touring circuit
for some good times to spruik latest single The Woods.
Once they get back from Europe, Friday 4 May they play The
Bakery, with supports and ticket info TBA.

Breakfest has been
nominated in the Top 5
Best Large Events at the
Breakspoll 2012 Awards
which are announced this
Saturday. Good luck!
High school students
keen to play at this
year’s Fairbridge Music
Festival should get along
to fairbridgefestival.com.
au and enter The Quest.
Entries now close March 2.
The Holding Pattern
allows artists who upload
their music onto the
portal to keep 80% of
the sale, while retaining
control of their copyright.
holdingpattern.com for
more info.

STYLIN’ BDAY

MACHINE DRUM

Sia has said she no longer
wants to tour or promote
her music, preferring to
make money writing pop
songs for pop stars. Of
course this isn’t the first
time she’s been a little over
the top on her Twitter.

BLOCK NESS
MONSTERS

FRAT PACK
Metropolis Fremantle have a new weekly party, and let’s
just say it’s for fans of every college party comedy that’s
ever happened. Frat House Fridays is a student night
launching Friday 24 February from 9pm ‘til late, with hosts
Death Disco DJs, plus special guests every week. Shorts
and casual attire welcome, with cheap drinks in red cups
and more, including special launch guests Block Ness
Monsters. Who? Here’s a hint: a DJ project from guys who
usually battle science with art.

HAVANA NIGHT
Last time Havana Brown was at Metropolis Fremantle it
was heaving and she’s back Easter Thursday 5 April for
Limelite. This darling of the decks has reached dizzying new
heights receiving two ARIA nominations and smashing
the charts with her Crave compilations. Touring, recording
and living it up in LA, Brown’s popularity in the States has
translated into a 12-month residency at Paris Las Vegas’
Chateau nightclub. Tickets via Moshtix.

FOREWORD LINE
SLEEP WALKIN’
As the momentum keeps building for Dead
Letter Circus in the US they’re headed there for
some tours including SXSW, before returning for
the Sleepwalker Australian Tour, presented by
Street Press Australia with Fair To Midland and
Twelve Foot Ninja. Friday 11 May the three play
Metropolis Fremantle and Saturday 12 they play
Capitol. Tickets via Oztix, Moshtix and the usuals
from next Monday. Dead Letter Circus’ new single
blasts the airwaves very soon.

NEWS FROM THE FRONT

LOCAL LOVIN’

March and want you to celebrate at The Bakery with
Naik, Diger Rokwell, Mathas, The Empty Cup, Ylem,
GDP (USA), Mei Saraswati, Ourobonic Plague,
Boost Hero Man, Sibalance, Silence and Arms In
Motion. This Drum-presented event also features The
Community Market Stall, print exhibition, VJ Lambency,
party games and more. Tickets via Now Baking.

CATCALL UP
Hitting the road this May in support of current single
Satellites and to preview songs from forthcoming
debut album The Warmest Place, Catcall and her
band play Amplifier Saturday 26 May. Having kicked
off 2012 by supporting Brazilian babes CSS in Sydney
and Melbourne, and with Satellites making noise
triple j and worldwide, catch her before she claws
her way to the very top. Tickets via Moshtix.

CISCO KIDS
Even though their massive sold-out national tour
hasn’t even wrapped up yet (it finishes at the
Fremantle Arts Centre this weekend with two EP
launch shows!), San Cisco have announced another,
and they’re taking local electro duo Voltaire Twins
along for the ride, including Mojo’s Friday 27 April,
before jaunting around the country playing Groovin’
The Moo sideshows and the festival, before playing
our GTM Saturday 19 May at Hay Park, Bunbury.
Tickets via Oztix.

There’s some mighty fine happenings going down
right now in WA, and we don’t just mean the
seemingly never-ending pool weather…
The Community has grown into a 30-strong
collective featuring producers, musicians, singers,
MCs, photographers, artists, a record label, two
radio shows and more. They turn eight Saturday 31

THE BIG 1-0

Touring a brand new full live show, Opiuo brings his
funked-up dub sounds to Capitol Saturday 24 March.
Featuring live drums, saxophone, trumpet, keys,
synths, guitar and samplers, all played and morphed
live by a few extremely talented, carefully-selected
musicians, even venturing from as far as the mighty
USA. Prepare to be shaken, stirred and moved by
this one-off live tour experience. The Butternut Slap
features support from Sunmonx, Russ Liquid and
JPS. Tickets via Moshtix.

JOXIC WASTE
Having recently spent some time in the studio with
Marko Seider (Beyonce, Drake) and soon heading
off to the USA for more recording time, J.Waste
is ready to make his mark on the Australian music
scene, and he’s got his eyes set on Perth. A former
metalcore (Chelsea Smile) and post-hardcore (With
Oceans Below) vocalist, Jarrod Bartlett’s move into
hip hop becomes complete Thursday 1 March at Oh
Snap at Villa.

EAT THE BEATS
Take in music and food from around the globe
at the City Of Wanneroo’s Global Beats & Eats
Festival at Liddell Reserve, Girrawheen Saturday
10 March. Headline act Tijuana Cartel (also
playing Mojo’s March 2 and 3) bring beats that
span the globe, supported by West African
drummers Bolo and Middle-Eastern four-piece
Daramad, with Chinese Lion Dancers, Ozmosis
and more. There’s plenty for the kids too, with
shaker making workshops, a bouncy castle, face
painting and more, from 5 til 9pm.

V FOR VENGEANCE
Aussie renegade DJ/producer Vengeance started
in high school, releasing his first tracks in 2008,
and since then he’s been proving his worth around
our shores; slamming out killer tracks and begging
retribution with his skills behind the decks – expect
an explosive delivery of infectious beats, electro
bangers and ridiculous synth-pop. He’s joining Japan
4 at Ambar, supported by Bezwun, Marty McFly,
Micah and Philly Blunt, $15 Saturday 24 March.
8 • THE DRUM MEDIA

Saturday 3 March new ALL-AGES venue The Garage

Award-winning acoustic duo Jane Germain & Ian
Simpson launch their new LP No Fun Allowed, packed
full of raging bluegrass, hard-driving blues and downhome country Friday 9 March at Kulcha.
Bootleg is back at Ambar Friday 16 March, featuring
The Bootleg Brothers, PDS, Tee El, FTW and The Barons
Red, $12 from 10pm.
Devilles Pad presents the annual Low Brow Kustom
Kulture Extravaganza, Sunday 25 March from 12
‘til 8pm. Muscle cars, kustom bikes, rat rods and
more combine with Sea Of Tunes and Lord Miff &
The Cadillacs, plus vintage markets, DJs, magicians,
barbeques and more.
The second annual William Street Festival arrives
Sunday 18 March. A free family and community event,
the ‘fest celebrates the arts and culture of William Street.
Two stages will showcase original bands including
Rocket To Memphis, Kwachala, Natalie Gillespie &
Lucky Oceans, The Bartlett Brothers, Village Vibe,
Grace Barbe and Club Qachria, with other performers
roaming the streets all day, which will be filled with food
stalls, arts and crafts, markets, live art and more.

JESSIE J

NEW BANGERS

M A R L E Y

FESTIVAL NEWS
www.houseofmarley.com.au

With all the buzz around Groovin’ The Moo, Saturday
19 May at Hay Park, Bunbury, with sideshows and a
cracking line-up to get excited about, there’s a teeny bit
of bad, but then good news: Chiddy Bang has had to
cancel, but has been replaced by sunny indie-pop kids
Ball Park Music, who continue the good times going
after a stellar 2011. Chiddy fans can get a refund through
Moshtix from Monday 27 February.

RUNNIN’ PADDOCKS
Australia’s favourite Leeds lads the Kaiser Chiefs return
to rock our shores this May for Groovin’ The Moo. They’ll
be bringing their brand new single On The Run, though
the chiefs arrive here a day early, now also playing Metro
City Friday 18 May. Tickets via Oztix. Up-and-coming
young guns Deep Sea Arcade (coming off the back of a
new album) and Loon Lake support, following plenty of
j-radio play for both in recent times.

ANNA LUNOE

Fremantle institution The Norfolk Basement reaches
the 10 year milestone in March and is marking the
occasion with a month-long celebration, featuring 22
separate gigs, and over 60 bands and artists joining
in to toast Freo’s own cellar full of noise. Saturday
afternoons will also feature acts in the Norfolk
courtyard. Acts involved include Pond, Felicity
Groom, Mick Thomas, Wolves At The Door, Rainy
Day Women, The Tumblers and many, many more.

BUTTERNUT CANDY

Local chanteuse Rabbit Island and dream stateinducing group Erasers have been picked to support
Portlandian indie-rock girl power group Wild Flag at The
Bakery Wednesday 7 March.

May at Amplifier. The genre-bending trio have taken it
upon themselves to deliver music that is unequivocally
their own, culminating in the recent much-adored Odd
Soul album. Tickets via Moshtix from February 28.

MY DELIRIUM
Rewind to August last year when Calling All Cars
released their second album, the ARIA-charting
Dancing With A Dead Man and set off on a tour
cycle around the country. They finished the year in a
blaze of glory supporting their new best friends Foo
Fighters and being added to the East Coast Big Day
Out run. They’re back though, The Delirium Tour at
Indi Bar Thursday 19 April; Prince Of Wales, Bunbury
Friday 20; and the Rosemount Hotel Saturday 21.
Arts Martial support.

The Dave Mann Collective launch their brand-spanking
new album Everywhere At Once at Fremantle Arts
Centre Friday 9 March. $15 plus BF or $25 door from
Heatseeker, Fremantle Arts Centre or usuals.

hosts The Seals, Hootenanny, Foam and The
Strangeways. It’s a new initiative offering under-agers
the chance to see some of Perth’s quality original live
music under the Rock Scholars umbrella. $10 from
6pm, with the next edition Saturday 28 April.

Following from their just-announced shows at Groovin’
The Moo, Wavves will play a sideshow Friday 18 May
at Rosemount Hotel. Thrust into the spotlight after
generating buzz through the brilliant home recordings of
the first two albums – both chock-full of charisma and
infectious power-pop – the distortion-happy, lo-fi slacker
and poppy melodies have attracted plenty of fans. Tickets
via Heatseeker, Planet, 78’s, Mills and Star Surf.

HOWARD’S END
Folk and world music good time Fairbridge Festival have
added Aussie legend Shane Howard to the line-up for
the festival, Friday 13 to Sunday 15 April. It’s been almost
30 years since Howard released the iconic album Spirit
Of Place, featuring Aussie anthem Solid Rock. Fairbridge
Festival takes place at Fairbridge Village, Pinjarra. Hit up
fairbridgefestival.com.au for ticketing details and a full list
of the 90-plus acts performing.

While Groovin’ The Moo looks like a massive one on
Saturday 19 May at Hay Park Bunbury, city-bound people
won’t be complaining too much as yet another act have
been announced for a sideshow: the Grammy-nominated
New Orleans three-piece Mutemath playing Sunday 20

Justin Timberlake reckons she’s the best singer
in the world right now, but find out for yourself
when rising pop icon Jessie J performs Monday
5 March at Challenge Stadium. The international
pop sensation will show you Who’s Laughing Now
with hits like Who You Are, Nobody’s Perfect and
Domino. This ALL-AGES, Street Press Australiapresented show is set to be a cracker, with
support coming from the good Professor Green
and Aussie star Ruby Rose. But if you don’t want
to shell out for tickets, win one of FIVE double
passes to the show by hitting the Giveaways tab
on Drum Perth’s Facebook page.
Jessie J will also be in town this coming weekend
for Future Music Festival, sharing a line-up
this year that’s hard to argue with. One of the
highlights this time around is sure to be the
Smirnoff DFA Records Stage. The original New
York slice slams down, with DFA hosts and LCD
Soundsystem’s legendary duo James Murphy
and Pat Mahoney performing hosting duties,
along with Hercules & Love Affair, Azari & III, Holy
Ghost, The Juan Maclean and more.

TRIPPING IN NEW YORK, STEALING IN AUSTRALIA
DIE ANTWOORD’S NINJA HAS FOUND OUT WHAT DUBSTEP IS, IDENTIFIED
WHAT SNOW IS AND IS SHOCKED AT THE CONTROVERSY MORMONS
CREATE. SCOTT FITZSIMONS BELIEVES IT’S THINGS LIKE THESE THAT
MAKE THE RAP-RAVE WORTH THEIR WEIGHT IN STOLEN HOTEL GEAR.

“O

K, sweet, don’t be a faggot now.” That’s how
Die Antwoord’s Ninja signs off on his chat
with us on the line from New York. It’s been
a long day of rehearsals and experiencing the big city
for the trio, also featuring co-vocalist Yo-Landi Vi$$er
and DJ Hi-Tek, and Ninja’s in fine form. At the time the
“rap-rave” group, as David Letterman put it recently,
from South Africa’s Capetown were about to release
their second album Ten$ion, an equally demented and
delirious collection of songs as their break-out debut $O$.

Matt Stone? “We didn’t know anyone was having a go at
us. What did they say, the fucking bastards?... We made
the video before they had a go at us. So they couldn’t say
anything, because we were like, ‘What? Check out the
Faggot video niggas, then everything will make sense’.”
Preparing for tours around the world – Australia’s leg
coming courtesy of the Future Music Festival – Ninja
says that the New York rehearsal rooms are treating them
well. “They had mirrors, and it was just like the best thing
I’ve ever done. We were rehearsing so much, it was the
coolest. Yo-Landi, for this one song Baby’s On Fire, she
only got the flow and pitch right, like, today. ‘Cause in the
studio she does this very sexy, chilled, intimate vibe, but
live that sort of shit can die so it was difficult… While
I’m doing the chorus to Baby’s On Fire she does this one
dance move, she does the more cool, chilled version
and I do the more epileptic fit version on the hook.

Ninja says it’s snowing. “Just a little, but it definitely
is snowing. It’s not rain, because it’s big and white…
this is the first time I’ve seen this, it’s tripping me out
actually. I put it on my tongue.” The new experience
could even inspire a future song, he says, quickly
throwing some ideas around. “Yeah, I’m Dreaming Of A
White Christmas, and Hey Santa Claus You Cunt Where’s
My Fucking Bike? It’s a remix, we’ll bring it back.”

“Have you ever seen, like, Fame or Flashdance? It was
like those sort of studios. We’ve never been is such
fancy facilities before, to do a rehearsal. And we have
a sound engineer, he’s from Columbia. He doesn’t deal
cocaine or anything, he’s from Columbia though. He can’t
come to Australia, which we were depressed about,
because he’s the ultimate sound engineer/tour manager.

Throughout our conversation, Ninja is usually rambling
on a topic. Extrapolating on small details that often
take him off that topic, he knows how to dominate a
conversation – not so much as intimidating as controlling.
“We just went and saw The Book Of Mormon,” he says,
deciding that this is what we’d be talking about next.
“It’s a Broadway production; we don’t get Broadway in
South Africa. It’s by the guys who made up South Park.
Our hotel was actually mystically positioned like four
steps away from the Broadway production The Book Of
Mormon. That was fate, not any human intervention,
and then we kind of freaked out and we tried to get
tickets and we found out they were booked ‘til February
14 2014 and we were, like, severely depressed.

“He’s having a baby, it’s a girl, but he won’t tell us the
name until it’s born, because it’s bad luck in South
America to say the name before the child’s born, but
it does have a name apparently, word on the street.
His name’s Leo, not the baby, him, the guy, our tour
manager. We’re gonna get another tour manager for
Australia, which is traumatising. But Australian tours
are really fancy upper-class sort of styles, so we’re
not that worried. When we played the Big Day Out we
stayed in the Versace Hotel [Australia’s first Versace
is on the Gold Coast] and they have a fake beach,
and I stole everything from the hotel. I have a Versace
towel, Versace slippers, Versace bed robe, Versace
soap, Versace shampoo, Versace everything.”

“But then we sent an email to my one friend who knows
the guys from South Park. They’re presently starting
season 16 and they’re pumping our Ten$ion album at the
South Park studios and once again destiny intervened
and we got four tickets to the show tonight. They had
to cancel some poor bastard and his posse’s tickets
so that we could watch it. And it was pretty much the
most controversial scene I’ve ever seen since I was born
and I can’t believe they haven’t been assassinated.”
Was it good though? [In over-blown Australian
accent] “Yeah, it was above bloody average mate.”

It’s not only the hospitality that gives them fond
memories of Australia. Like many artists, they attest
that the support here is amongst the best in the world.
“Pretty much everyone’s psychotically into us. Rather
than anywhere else in the world, Australia went the
most fuckin’ berserk.” He describes the crowd in Big
Day Out’s “Boiling Room” as “Lord Of The Rings CGI.
You don’t see that many people in front of you in real
life, ever. It was the most psycho shows we’ve ever
had ever… I can’t even understand it myself. I think
it’s to do with Rodney Rude and Crocodile Dundee.”

It’s enjoyable to let Ninja rant on like this, because
that’s when he’s at his finest. Die Antwoord is, after
all, performance art. Ninja’s real name is Watkin Tudor
Jones, and he’s played a number of characters notorious
in South Africa. He even has a child with co-star Visser
named Sixteen. Not everyone’s in on this joke yet – of
an overly Zef (South African’s answer to gangster
culture) rap group – and that’s part of what makes Die
Antwoord so alluring. Especially when Jones holds his
character so well. He’s been known to freeze up when
journalists take the ‘performance art’ angle, and when
the story is so entertaining it’s worth running with him.

Ten$ion has since been released on the band’s own
label, and it’s both an improvement on $O$ and Die
Antwoord. Given that people know what to expect now,
they’ve been able to play up on the joke, push it further,
and even get the kids in with dubstep. “DJ Hi-Tek was
fucking with this shit called dubstep. We thought it
was like gangsta rap, like slow gangsta rap. And then
he said, ‘No, that’s dubstep. All the kids are into it.’

“We nearly got kicked out, basically,” he continues
of the Broadway experience. “They were saying we
were talking but I didn’t fucking talk once, I was just
laughing. Like, fuck, I basically laughed my balls out of
my mouth. It was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen since
I was born, I couldn’t believe that they were allowed
to do that. You would get assassinated for doing that
type of production in South Africa, like, easily.”

“We were like, ‘Can you do an apocalyptic fuckin’
warzone end-of-the world?’ which is pretty much
South African-flavoured dubstep. Like, hard up-inthe-club shit mixed with hi-energy rave.”

One of the big talking points prior to Ten$ion’s release
was that the band had left their label after a dispute
(which may or may not have been manufactured).
They claimed that Interscope were too involved in
their new direction. The album was subsequently
released on their own Zef Records. Ninja tells Drum
that the unnerving mid-album satirical skit Uncle
Jimmy, where ‘Uncle Jimmy’ entices band member
Yo-Landi Vi$$er to sit on his lap and stay in his office
so he can ‘keep her as a pet’, is based on a real
person – Interscope Records boss Jimmy Iovine.
“Yeah Jimmy Iovine, from Interscope, the boss of
Interscope. I can do Jimmy real good, that was
actually me, I know it sounds like Jimmy but
it’s actually me. Jimmy always used to like ask
us in for herbal tea and stuff and ask Yo-Landi
to sit on his knee and stuff and make little cute
jokes at us all the time. So we thought it was
quite funny to put in a skit.” He continued, “And

WHO: Die Antwoord

Given the controversy of the use of the word “faggot” in
single Fok Julie Naaiers, which came accompanied with
an explanatory video, surely Die Antwoord’s penchant for
controversy matches South Park creators Trey Parker and

‘OUR LABEL BOSS MADE US SIT ON HIS LAP’

COERCE

sat FEB 25
7ULJJHU-DFNHWV
7KH6FRWFK2I
6DLQW-DPHV
7KH9LQFHQW*DOORZV

with special guests

Grim Fandango
Drowning Horse
Coveleski

Doors 8pm. Tickets from
www.rosemounthotel.com.au

FREE ENTRY from 8pm.

then he didn’t want to put the skit on the album,
and that’s why we left Interscope. We were
like, ‘That’s lame. We’re leaving your label now.
Bye.’ That’s why we left Interscope, because
they wouldn’t put Uncle Jimmy on the album.”
Ninja said that he doesn’t know what Iovine – one
of the biggest industry players in the American,
and international, music scene – thinks of the
track since it made the album. “He doesn’t
speak to us anymore, I don’t take his calls.”
He adds that the skit, “Was funky, it was fresh. As I
said for us it was like the greatest skit in the history
of hip hop music. When we made it it was like, ‘Fuck
this is funny’ and like cool and shit. Memorable.
“People would be talking about it. we knew if we
put it on it would be popular with the kids. When
they were like, ‘Oh, we’re not putting that on’,
we were like, ‘OK, you’re not our label, bye.’”

SUN FEB 26

SUPER
SUMMER

SUNDAY
SESSION
DJs in the Beer Garden
from 3pm / Breakfast $10 /
Cocktails available all day

Joining Bonnie Prince
Billy at his Perth
Festival Gardens
show will be frequent
collaborator Emmett
Kelly and his band
The Cairo Gang –
common knowledge,
sure, but what you
may not know is
what the band shares
their name with.
And today, fair Drum
reader, we offer you
a quick history lesson
on a group of British
Intelligence Agents
from the 1920s, sent
to Dublin to gather
intel against Irish
Republican Army (IRA)
big wigs. They were
known as The Cario
Gang and the majority
were killed at various
locations around
Dublin on the morning
of November 21, 1920
– a day that would
later become known
as Bloody Sunday.

IT HAS BEEN A LONG SIX-YEAR WAIT FOR AUSTRALIAN BONNIE “PRINCE” BILLY FANS TO SEE HIM BACK
IN OUR COUNTRY, BUT, AS THE MAN BEHIND THE MONIKER WILL OLDHAM PREPARES TO RETURN ON
THE BACK OF LAST YEAR’S WOLFROY GOES TO TOWN, HE TELLS DAN CONDON HE’S HAD HIS REASONS.

T

here are some explicitly personal reasons as
to why Will Oldham hasn’t been to Australia in
six years, though it’s not because he doesn’t
love it down here. “The last trip we made down
there we played a few shows in Australia and a
number of shows in New Zealand and it was one
of the most rewarding trips I’ve been on,” Oldham
begins. “It was very special in a lot of ways and it’s
the kind of thing that slows you down from trying
something again, having such a great experience.
“At the same time, the last time I went was about
six years ago and a few months later my father
passed away. My mother has been of questionable
health since then, so that makes travelling to the
other side of the world a bit more challenging.”
There are plenty of exciting plans in store for this
trip, both for Oldham and his fans. “We’ll get to see
my friend Mick Turner and play some music with
him and I believe do a bit of recording with him
and that’s something I greatly look forward to,” he
reveals. “I look forward to going to Margaret River
because Chan Marshall [aka Cat Power] has spoken
many times about the glories of Margaret River
and I’ve never had a chance to go there before,
but this time we get to go and play in Margaret
River so that’s very exciting. I’ve only heard good
things about it. I’ll also have a new hand-plane for
bodysurfing, so I look forward to breaking it in on
both the east and west coasts of the country.”
This trip is on the back of last year’s wonderful
Wolfroy Goes To Town, a record made with the help
of six of Oldham’s favourite collaborators. The fact
such a large band has produced a sparse, considered
record is testament to their subtle playing. While
this wasn’t a dictated direction on Oldham’s behalf,
he did ask the musicians to listen intently and
respect each other’s playing. “I knew we were
going to be going in and recording with seven of
us in total, so there was always the thought of
encouraging people to remember that there were
seven of us participating and asking everybody to
be very judicious when deciding how he or she
was going to contribute,” he recounts. “It’s great
that it’s ended up sounding open and sparse when
there are seven people participating in the making
of all the songs. It’s just the idea that you want
all of these creative forces as part of the record
but you don’t want them to overwhelm the song,
you don’t want the listener to feel ganged-up upon
by us. The song has to have some space because
12 • THE DRUM MEDIA

there has to be room for the audience in there.”
The album takes its name from a painting by
Oldham’s friend Lori D, an artist from Portland,
Oregon, who painted it for an exhibition in
Melbourne. “I had created this name Wolfroy a
number of years ago and I used it as an email
address,” he explains. “I follow [Lori’s] work fairly
closely and knew she had this exhibition down there
and I looked from here, from Kentucky, to see what
the works were and saw she had appropriated this
name of Wolfroy and created this amazing image.
Her work in general I usually find fairly breathtaking
and inspiring, and I liked that she had carried
the name and given the name a body. It was so
exciting. I own the painting and I look at it every
day; it’s the kind of thing where it’s just a part of
my brain world. When I was looking at it every day
and working at these songs, I just thought, ‘This
could be my guiding light for making this record’.”
A track from the record, Time To Be Clear, will be
released as a single soon with unreleased offcuts
Whipped and Out-Of-Mind featuring as b-sides. But
they’re far from throwaway songs. In fact Oldham
says their release is what will make Wolfroy Goes To
Town feel complete. “We prepared twelve songs and

“

roles. Another good way is to write songs in which
you can leave certain parts of the forces that act upon
you to make you who you are and retain others.
“Maybe one day it would be nice to write some more
third person songs and I’ve tried every now and
again, but, when you’re singing, the joy of finding
the dynamic and the melody of the performance
comes more completely with identification with
the voice that is making the words happen.”
Anyone who has spent the past few months bathing
in the gorgeous harmonies on Wolfroy... are in for
a real treat when Oldham arrives with his band The
Cairo Gang. “We’ll be a four-piece, four of us out of
the Wolfroy… band – Emmett Kelly, Angel Olsen,
Van Campbell and myself,” he reveals. “This will
be the first time that we’ve worked as a quartet in
that way, although the four of us have been playing
together in different formations in the past few
years. There will be a lot of singing – Emmett, Angel
and I have just been singing with each other a lot,
so there’ll be a lot of singing off of each other.”
He has 16 studio albums and countless singles, EPs
and collaborative works to his name, but when Will
Oldham thinks about the future, he’s not certain
about continuing along the path he’s trod for so

THE SONG HAS TO HAVE SOME SPACE
BECAUSE THERE HAS TO BE ROOM FOR
THE AUDIENCE IN THERE.”

ended up only recording ten, but then we recorded
the other two songs a few months later,” he says.
“That’s exciting because it feels complete now and
the release will feel complete by that point. They’re
the two songs that have anything to do with love
– both platonic and corporeal – and they were not
included with the rest of them, so it ended up being
a fairly cerebral record without these two songs.”
Wolfroy… sees Oldham once again singing from the
first person perspective, something he has made
a habit of throughout his career. He says it was a
yearning to step out of his own skin what drew him to
music initially. “I came to music through acting and I
came to acting through the desire to live out alternate
realities and make decisions based on completely
different forces acting upon my decision making
process – and one good way of doing that is to play

long. “Making records is something I love to do,
but it’s also something I do to live,” he imparts. “In
general, mass produced media has changed and, if
it continues to go in such a way that less and less
income can potentially come from the making of a
record, then I don’t know how many records I can
continue to make. I love making records, but it’s a
new world from the world in which I grew up.”
WHO: Bonnie “Prince” Billy
WHAT: Wolfroy Goes To Town (Spunk)
WHEN & WHERE: Friday 24 February, Perth
Festival, Festival Gardens, Northbridge; Saturday
25 & Sunday 26, Jewel Cave, Margaret River

themusic.com.au

The Cairo Gang –
named so as members
of the group regularly
gathered at various
establishments
around Dublin, one
of which was called
the Cairo Café –
consisted of British
Army Officers, Royal
Irish Constabulary
Officers and a civil
informant, and was
assembled due to
growing concerns at
how successful the
IRA was becoming
under the leadership
of Michael Collins.
Unfortunately for
the gang there was
enough information
about their presence
for Collins to set-up
counter-intelligence
on the group,
which lasted for
several weeks
until the infamous
Bloody Sunday.
On the morning of 21
November, Collins
along with several
other IRA members
planned a large-scale
attack at 9am, which
left 15 men dead and
four injured at various
points around Dublin
city. The timing of the
killings was chosen to
coincide with a Gaelic
Football Match on in
the city that afternoon,
the increased crowds
providing ideal
cover. Unfortunately
it also provided
perfect opportunity
for the British Royal
Constabulary to
march on the game
to search all men
in the park. What
resulted was another
14 deaths, these
ones Irish citizens,
then three more IRA
suspects were shot
and killed later that
night trying to escape
from custody.

THE DRUM MEDIA • 13

NO NEW DIRECTIONS
THEIR ARABIA MOUNTAIN RECORD OF LAST YEAR WAS WIDELY HERALDED
AS ONE OF THE YEAR’S BEST, AND NOW ATLANTA’S FINEST PARTYSTARTING GARAGE ROCK TROUPE BLACK LIPS ARE GETTING READY TO
GET LOOSE IN AUSTRALIA AGAIN. DAN CONDON DISCOVERS THAT WE
SHOULDN’T HAVE TO WAIT TOO LONG BEFORE THE NEXT RECORD.

“

“THIS TIME I’D
LIKE TO KINDA
DO THINGS LIKE
WE NEVER DO
THEM, WHICH IS
ACTUALLY PLAN
IT OUT.”

I

t’s over six months since Black Lips released their sixth
studio record Arabia Mountain and Jared Swilley is still, in
a word, chuffed. “I’m super happy with it, it’s my favourite
record we ever did,” he exudes, “both with the end product
and the recording process. I’m super happy. I’m actually ready
to start working on the new one as soon as possible.”
Yes, the record – their highest selling to date – is just half a year old,
but the bassist is already looking to the next one. It is in revealing his
hopes for album number seven that we get something of an insight
into the Black Lips’ rather chaotic modus operandi on Arabia Mountain.
“This time I’d like to kinda do things like we never do them, which is
actually plan it out,” he asserts. “Usually everything with us is just
so scatterbrained, everything’s… not a mess, but this time I actually
want to like do demos beforehand and do a session where we set up
and have a set amount of time to do it. I want to record everywhere
and do as much as possible, but this one I’d like to plan out more.
“The last one was just kind of haphazard, we’d just do studio time
here and studio time there, and then Mark Ronson called and that
was great that we did that, but we kind of did it by the skin of our
teeth because we were touring pretty heavily between it and just had
a lot of deadlines and stuff. But this next one I want to plan more.”
And so nonchalantly Swilley brings up the biggest talking point about
Arabia Mountain prior to its release, the Grammy award-winning,
heavily pop and soul-leaning superstar record producer who came on
board with a scruffy bunch of garage punks and helped them make a
record. To say there were hesitations about the decision among the
band’s fanbase is a drastic understatement, but Swilley says that,
inside the band, it was a different story. “No, he was calling us a
bunch and writing to us and pretty much the first thing he said was
that he didn’t want to fuck with our sound too much and he didn’t
want to be the one responsible for [us] feeling the wrath of our fans,
for ruining us,” Swilley responds when asked if there was any fear of
letting Ronson take control midway through the recording process.
“So he was not hands-off, he was more like… he really wanted
us to do our thing and he would just add in his nuances and
subtleties and direction. He didn’t take it over like a dictator or
anything; he was so easy and so great to work with. He just kind
of helped accent things and make our strengths a little stronger.”
That is precisely what he did. Despite the fact that the record manages
to capture the free spirited energy of this band clearer and more
urgently than ever before and even though it sees the band further
refine their (already razor-sharp) knack for irresistible pop hooks, the
best thing about Arabia Mountain is that it did not ruin the Black
Lips. One could make the assumption that this is why the band’s
early adopters didn’t voice their disdain upon the record’s release.
“I’m kind of surprised that we didn’t get more of a backlash from
our older fans who are fans of all of the earlier albums,” Swilley
reflects. “I was expecting a lot of people who have been following
us for years and the ones who are more like super punk-rock and
stuff to rip on us working with Mark Ronson because he’s known
for doing so much pop stuff. There wasn’t really a backlash about
that at all, everyone was pretty happy about what he did and no
one called us sellouts or anything like that. That surprised me.”
Their producer may have been a little more high profile than usual –
though it must be said that Deerhunter’s Lockett Pundt and the band
themselves also contributed a lot to the production process – but
much of the nuts and bolts used to put their songs to tape stayed
the same as usual. This was particularly important in regards to
keeping the record sounding cohesive, given the sessions were
completed in a number of different studios with different figures at
the helm. “We do everything analogue,” Swilley says. “I believe
at most of the studios it was identical tape machines and similar
mics and amps and all that. For us it was easy. The guy mastering
the record, I think he had a nightmare mastering it; it took him a
really long time. I think he had a real bitch of a time doing it. That
actually took over a month of sending tracks back and forth. I don’t
understand the mastering process very well at all but I think he
said it was the hardest thing he’s ever had to master before.”
Another thing that hasn’t changed over the years is the band’s attitude
towards practicing. “We’ve never practiced before,” Swilley blurts,
almost out of nowhere. “I mean, we did when we were in high school,
but we just write the songs and then we get together and work them
out. We might have one or two practices a year. We play together
so much that I guess we have full dress rehearsals every night.”
Since the release of Arabia Mountain, their touring schedule hasn’t
been quite as hectic. They’re still out on the road more often than
they’re not, but doing bigger shows around the world means a little
more time at home. “It’s the best selling record we’ve had so far
which these days with record sales numbers isn’t that much, but it
did well in terms of numbers. Our shows have gotten bigger in the
States and in Europe, especially in France and stuff I’ve noticed it’s
gotten a lot better. I’ve noticed our fan base has gotten a lot younger.
I mean, I have gotten older, but they’re getting even younger, which
is a good thing. I like the kids and their energy and enthusiasm.
This year is probably our best year career-wise, it’s been fun. Now
instead of having to tour ten months out of the year we only have to
tour seven months out of the year. We get a little more time off.”
With that extra time, Black Lips band have been hard at
work to fulfill Swilley’s goal of getting back into the studio
pronto. “Everyone has written their batch of songs so we’ll get
together and start practicing and then go to the studio. We
might start [recording] as early as before we go to Australia,
because we have time in February off with nothing to do.”
WHO: Black Lips
WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 8 March, The Bakery, Northbridge

14 • THE DRUM MEDIA

themusic.com.au

DIESELBASS
FROM DJING HIGH SCHOOL DANCES TO RUNNING TWO LABELS, IT’S
FAIR TO SAY FLORIDA’S DIESELBOY HAS BEEN AROUND THE TRAPS.
TROY MUTTON GOES BACK TO THE START WITH DAMIAN HIGGINS,
AHEAD OF HIS SHOW WITH CONCORD DAWN THIS WEEKEND.

B

ig-name drum’n’bass DJs haven’t exactly spewed forth
out of the United States Of America. A genre usually
reserved for the Brits (and us Perthites of course), you
get the feeling it might even be bypassed completely given
the advent of dubstep has currently exploded stateside. Don’t
blame Damian Higgins, aka Dieselboy, though. He’s been there
right from the start – banging it out at high school dances.
“Back then I was playing R’n’B and synth-pop – basically the
music that I was collecting at the time,” Higgins says of his
humble beginnings. “There wasn’t really a stepping stone for me
into drum’n’bass because I was actually playing what was the
precursor to drum’n’bass, which was breakbeat techno. Drum’n’bass
didn’t even exist when I started DJing. As I began my career
into DJing, drum’n’bass slowly evolved from this early stuff.”

“

HE PUTS ALMOST
EVERY DJ IN THE
CIRCUIT NOW
TO SHAME.”

Higgins’ family had a background in music, but not one that affected
him. His father is Bertie Higgins, the quintessential one hit wonder
with his chart-killing romantic ballad Key Lago. “Ironically, my
father really had no influence on my career in music. My parents
separated when I was quite young, I was however influenced
by my cousins growing up who were going out to clubs in the
early ‘80s and playing me all sorts of club tracks, early dance
remixes etcetera. Later, I became really interested in late ‘80s
R’n’B/new jack swing as well as synth-pop like Dépêche Mode
and New Order. Finally, after discovering industrial music in the
late ‘80s/early ‘90s, I started getting into the early rave, techno
stuff that was starting to come out, and the rest is history.”
As accurate a use of the phrase as there ever was, Higgins would
go on to become one of America’s most successful d’n’b DJs. His
single Invid was the first d’n’b track to poll in Billboard’s chart in
2000, and he became the first American to poll in the UK-based
Drum’n’Bass Arena Top 10 DJs in 2004. Just last week at the
Grammy Awards Skrillex quoted Higgins at the end of one of his
acceptance speeches, closing with “All the boats rise with the water.”
And if dance music’s hottest property giving you a sneaky shoutout isn’t making it, then running two influential labels surely is.
In 2002 he founded Human Imprint, and has since co-founded its
sub-label Subhuman. According to the DJ who now, like many, is
not averse to throwing in some dubstep and electro into his d’n’b
sets, it’s all going swimmingly. “The labels are actually doing well,
especially Subhuman. My focus with the record labels isn’t to
make a ton of money unless it is for our artists. Quite the opposite,
my focus is to help promote artists that I like and to also use the
labels as a springboard into doing other sorts of things like setting
up tours, helping to push t-shirts, exposure etcetera; really just
using the label as a creative outlet to do all sort of things.”

THE ALL NEW

FESTIVAL
GARDENS

TICKETS
$39.50–$59.50

This is just a taste.
Full program available online.
Complimentary ticket entry
for Festival patrons from 6.30pm

OPEN NIGHTLY FROM 6.30PM UNTIL 3 MARCH

And the list of ‘things’ is long. Along with the labels, production, and
mix compilations, you can generally catch Higgins at any number of
festivals around the globe and even supporting acts that range from
metallers Disturbed to the bald prince Moby himself, plus extreme
sports displays, writing tracks for video games and graphic designing.
It’s clear through talking to him, and his shows that meld the audio
and the visual, that it’s a link he enjoys making. On graphic design he
says, “I feel that the visual is just as important as anything else with
regards to music. The purpose is to help create a synergy between
music and aesthetic that forms a greater end result.” And this in
turn lends itself to his music appearing in a number of video games,
including Gran Turismo, Saints Row and Need For Speed. “I think
electronic music in general is a good fit for video games... I feel that
drum’n’bass really adds a lot of energy to high-paced action games.”
And then there’s his mixes, the latest of which, Wake The Dead,
is a ball-tearing 84 minutes that includes no less than 87 tracks.
The free download went gangbusters, clocking in thousands of hits
in very repaid succession, and Higgins is understandably pretty
chuffed. “While I was working on Wake The Dead I was thinking
that it was going to suck and not be as good as I wanted it to be.
But once I put the finishing touches on it and took a step back I
must say I am happy with the end result. What I was really trying
to say with it is that I don’t shoot for mediocrity. I like to set the
bar high for myself and aim for it. I hope people that listen to my
new mix will appreciate the small details and layers that I put
into it. I try to do that with everything, including my live sets.”
Higgins has been in the game for a while, and it shows with the
amount of thought, effort and passion that goes into the entire
package that is Dieselboy. It also separates the wheat from the
chaff in the current industry. “I must say that it does make me
somewhat sad that the new generation of performers use every
trick in the book to actually not do anything ‘live’ any more. Almost
like the equivalent of not learning how to play guitar but learning
how to be really good playing Rock Band 3 for Xbox. Or just
putting out stuff that is super uninspiring,” he bemoans. “As far as
being impressed by people nowadays, I will say my favourite DJ
and performer hands down is a guy from the States that goes by
Z-Trip. He puts almost every DJ in the circuit now to shame.”
Higgins has also been very open to collaborative efforts over the
course of his career, and he offers a somewhat interesting choice for
a dream partner. “I just like working with other people. I like to help
showcase their strengths in a tune and then amplify it... A dream
collaboration for me would be to work on something with someone
who really does crazy shit in the studio…maybe someone like Kanye
West? Would be curious to see his work process.” Wouldn’t we all.

MEN
THIS SATURDAY!
Sat 25 Feb, 9pm
Festival Gardens

This is music for a dance party that
lets out at 7am, when everyone can
pack up their glow sticks and move
on to the research library. NY PRESS

UNEARTHLY DELIGHTS
ALL AROUND HIM UNEARTH FRONTMAN TREVOR PHIPPS IS WATCHING
BANDS FLAME OUT AND DIE. THE CORE PHENOMENON COINCIDED WITH
THE INTERNET BOOM AND THE REVOLUTION THAT CAME WITH IT. THE HYPE
DIDN’T LAST AND SIMON HOLLAND TALKS TO THE CREAM OF THE CROP.

I

f there could be a cooler sounding name for a place
than Massachusetts I’d like to hear it. An illustrious
US college state, it has a reputation for the twin pillars
of society: education and partying. Massachusetts also
houses the best metalcore band in the damn country.
The term, as with the genre, is so riddled with pretence
that even the mention leaves a bitter taste on the palate.
However, Unearth have remained true to the origins of the
genre, a thrashy youthful brand of metal that is native to
America and succeeded where the trendwhores failed.

Unearth, currently in the prime of their lives, are all too
aware of the rapid changes taking place amongst the
youth of today and have adapted to suit. Seeking to be
a permanent fixture in the American heavy metal lineup
like their illustrious forebears, they remain just as hungry
to prove they are not simply trendy flashes in the pan.
The response to latest release Darkness In The Light has
been met with nothing but acclaim from critics and fans
alike. “Hell yeah, it’s been awesome,” begins frontman
Trevor Phipps. “We’ve been playing most of the songs
live, touring the world with it, so we’ll play some of the
songs for the first time in Australia. The crowd response
has been amazing. A bunch of our fanbases are saying
that it’s our best record yet or our best record since
The Oncoming Storm, which was kinda the record that
broke us back in ‘04. But it seems like the fans are
going nuts to it, singing hard to it, so it’s a good time.”
The approach to the album was simple. All killer, no filler.
It was this mentality, reinforced by Phipps’ belief in the
strength of the traditionalist approach, that results in
the band’s continuing success. “I think it’s important to
have a full record because bands that write aggressive
music don’t write songs just to have pop songs.” The last
two words are spit from Phipps’ mouth with a particular
distaste. “Bands need to write a full album. I think it’s
very important to listen to a full album. I think that if
you don’t give an album a chance, like the full record,
then you as a fan are getting gypped. I was a kid and
just thrashing to these records from start to finish, and
even the songs that I knew were the weaker tracks,
I still got into those songs because it was part of the
record and that whole vibe. No record from a band will

ever be the same. Vulgar Display Of Power by Pantera
doesn’t sound like any other Pantera record. Master Of
Puppets is in a class of its own. There might be weaker
tracks on it but it’s a complete album, you get lost in
that record. It’s a lot better than stand-alone singles.”
They tour hard, having reached success at an earlier
stage in their careers than most bands, and are gearing
up as a massive inclusion for the epic 2012 edition of
Soundwave. Phipps is impressed. “I reckon Soundwave
is pretty diverse,” he states, with geniune admiration
for the Australian production. “It’s amazing actually how
diverse. Our first time on Soundwave was in 2009. It
was very much about that mentality of the festivals in
Europe, where you would mix a bunch of bands together,
and you’ll get people to go to the festival and check it
out. Wacken might be just metal. There’s other festivals
like Download and Rock Am Ring in Germany that we
played. One year it was like Slayer played right before
R.E.M, and I was like, ‘Man that’s fucking weird.’ It
was a strange idea but it works because most humans
enjoy music but they just don’t like strictly one kind
of music, they might definitely lean towards one style
more, but everyone likes different styles of music.
“You can’t just like one style only. That’s why I think
that these festivals are so great, because they kinda
blend all these different bands, and if you don’t like a
style of music or a style of band, you just don’t watch
that stage, you know? You can walk around and check
out a song, perhaps like, you might not like the band’s
sound, but you just wanna check out their live show
just for a song, and you might get hooked. It’s kinda
cool. It breaks down a bunch of barriers, and gives
people a different idea of what bands are about.”
The inclusive nature of these festivals is not limited
to genre-bending. The ferocity of their nature and the
hard yards on the track are paying off as metalheads
unite globally under the Unearth banner, resulting in
massive crowds showing up for the blistering live
performances they’re renowned for. The development of
the Internet has proven to be the catalyst for the steroidal
advancement of globalization and Unearth are finding
success in the furthest corners of the globe. A globe with

a population that, despite vast geographical and cultural
differences, find commonality in this type of music.
“Having shows are shows, and we’ll play a show, in
Boston or it can be Sydney or it can be Tokyo, I feel
like the shows are all, like, very similar. People are
there, they’re moshing, they’re having a good time,
they’re stage-diving, singing along, and I think that
our scene is very tight-knit around the world. If you’re
involved in metal or hardcore all the shows are very
similar, worldwide. We play in a bunch of countries
and we’ve been touring full-time since around 2001.
Our first tour in Europe was 2002. We’ve been in
Australia, this will be our eighth time. Japan, five or six
times. We’ve been a bunch of places and it just seems
like our shows are very similar across the planet.”
The good news is that all this translates into a sense
of higher being for Unearth. Their goal is to remain in
the elite bracket of American bands and continue to
strengthen and inspire the genre itself. “If the bands
are out there,” states Phipps emphatically, “if they’re
playing hard each day and they’re putting out records
that people like, there’s no reason why a band should

disappear. They’re just playing for five or six years,
which seems to be the current trend, that we see
a bunch of bands kind of come and go. This is our
fourteenth year as a band, and it’s our eleventh year
of touring full time, and our band has no plans of going
away. This is what the band wants to do for a career.
“There’s bands that we look up to that have done this.
Bands like Slayer, Cannibal Corpse have been around for
20 or 30 years, and that’s what this band wants to do
and I think that’s good for fans too, because a band only
gets better with time. You’re playing each day, and your
just getting better at your craft. So, if a band is good, puts
out good records, and plays well live, then I think fans
should stick around for them. I think that their old fans
should introduce them to the younger generation as well.”
WHO: Unearth
WHEN & WHERE: Sunday 4 March,
Amplifier, Perth; Monday 5 March,
Soundwave, Claremont Showgrounds

POWER PLAYERS
DANCE MUSIC SUPERGROUP SWEDISH HOUSE MAFIA ARE NOT SO
MUCH SAVING THE WORLD AS TAKING IT OVER. CYCLONE MANAGES
TO PIN SEBASTIAN INGROSSO DOWN FOR A QUICK CHAT.

T

he Swedish House Mafia (SHM) – DJ/
producers Axel “Axwell” Hedfors, Steve
Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso – could be
dance music’s first bona fide supergroup. They
have the big tunes, big shows and big egos.
Now SHM are heading to Australia for the first time
as a trio and, while Ingrosso is amped about that,
he’s less keen to do press for it. It’s obvious he wants
this interview done with; Ingrosso typically starts
speaking mid-question. His answers are truncated or
vague. Nevertheless, the Stockholm native, himself
last here for Stereosonic, confirms that SHM will
basically be bringing the same extravagant One Night
Stand ‘live’ show they staged at New York’s Madison
Square Garden in December. “We always tweak it
and make it better for every show,” Ingrosso says.
They’ll chuck in fresh edits, or bootlegs and tracks.

To be fair, Ingrosso, a family man, has a lot going on.
SHM officially launched circa 2008, the ‘Mafia’ bit a
joke, but their origins are much older. Ingrosso bonded
with Angello in childhood when they got into a scrap
(Angello hit Ingrosso on the head with a baseball bat).
They had something in common – both were outsiders.
Ingrosso, who has Italian ancestry, was born in South
Africa and Angello Greece (his late father is the one with
the murky underworld connections). They’d eventually
recruit Hedfors, who’d blown up globally with Feel The
Vibe (‘Til The Morning Comes), the three collaborating
in different configurations. The inaugural SHM tune
was Get Dumb, with input from Dutchman Laidback
Luke. They’d subsequently unleash One (Your Name) –
Pharrell Williams gracing the vocal version – and Miami
2 Ibiza with Tinie Tempah, plus the album Until One.
Until One served as a soundtrack to that “unofficial”
Mafioso Christian Larson’s hilarious SHM documentary
Take One, which The Guardian likened to This Is Spinal
Tap. In it Ingrosso, SHM’s funniest (and most ironic)
player, utters his slogan, “I’m going to fuck this nightclub
in the pussy!” Today ‘Swedish House Mafia’ is a brand,
the DJs even hosting their own Masquerade Motel
events globally. As with his cohorts, Ingrosso continues
to actively pursue a solo career. All the SHM members
16 • THE DRUM MEDIA

have labels, with Ingrosso’s being Refune. And Ingrosso
might just be feeling a little competitive as SHM’s
least ‘famous’ DJ. Though the clique placed 10th in the
2011 DJ Mag poll, Hedfors himself is #12, Angello
#23 and Ingrosso #26. SHM clearly has three strong
personalities, but Ingrosso can’t describe how they
interact – or who chips in what. “I mean, it’s hard for me
to say,” he demurs. “I think you need to ask a fan that
question... I don’t know, man. They’re my best friends.”
SHM recently aired the dark, dubsteppy ‘versus’ Antidote
with fellow Future Music Festival heavy hitters Knife
Party, a new electro project from Pendulum’s Rob
Swire and Gareth McGrillen. “Steve was in Australia
for Future Music [Festival] last year and he toured
with Pendulum. They’d been to a lot of our shows –
or Gareth has been to a lot of our shows – and they
remixed Save The World and we loved the remix. We
said, ‘We should do something together’. They started
out with the track in Australia, then Steve sent it over
to me and Ax in Sweden and we started to work from,
like, London, LA, Sweden – back and forth. It took
a while but, yeah, then we finished the record.”
SHM presented what was marketed as their debut,
Until One, in 2010. But, as Ingrosso admits, it was
really a compilation of various productions, remixes
or edits from SHM as a posse or individuals (including
his own reworking of MGMT’s Kids). The group are
slated to release a live set, One Night Stand, taking in
2011’s aforementioned mega-anthem Save The World,
Antidote and SHM’s remix of Coldplay’s Every Teardrop
Is A Waterfall. Yet Ingrosso says tersely, “No, it’s not
coming out.” He doesn’t elaborate, though SHM’s local
label EMI indicates that it’s been shelved. However,
plans are afoot for a proper album. “We’re working
on it and hopefully we’ll try to someday finish one.”
SHM have teamed with big names in (urban) pop, like
Pharrell. Would they record together again? “Of course,”
Ingrosso replies. “We did work with him again, but
there’s nothing that’s released. We will see what happens
with that. We work with a lot of people, but we always
try to work with different people for every track.” In
the meantime, SHM have been attached to will.i.am’s

next solo album, #willpower. Ingrosso clarifies that he
and Angello co-produced a track with the Black Eyed
Pea and Alicia Keys, but it’s no SHM ‘collab’, per se.
Pop, urban and house have all but converged. Some – cue
Erykah Badu – worry that hip hop especially is losing its
identity. “Music is music – that’s what I say,” Ingrosso
responds dryly. Still, he holds that it’s now virtually
mandatory for urban acts to be dancy. “They don’t have
any other choice. If they wanna be played on the radio,
if they wanna sell records, if they wanna be played on
MTV, they need to have a 4/4 beat on the track and they
need to follow the trend or they need to be in the future
or otherwise they will fall. That’s exactly how it works.”
At any rate, more than David Guetta, SHM have a macho
hip hop swagger – and Angello is a former turntablist.
Ingrosso reckons that the dance music revolution was
inevitable. He’s not necessarily surprised at how big
dance has become in the US – despite the fact that in the
‘80s, even the ‘90s, America’s black dance pioneers were
unable to garner support, let alone exposure, at home,
prompting them to look to Europe. The scene then was
segregated. “I’ve been doing this for almost ten years
and I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time and
I always knew it – because the feeling I got when I first
went to a big dance rave or something like that, I never
felt at any other kind of concert in my life, except maybe
U2 or Coldplay, which has the same big, huge epic feeling.

themusic.com.au

But I said to myself, the world needs to experience this
– it can’t be an underground thing forever.” The ‘House’
in Swedish House Mafia is ultimately a misnomer as the
group flirt heavily with power trance. Their blinged-out
club music is a hybrid of everything from house to electro
to progressive to trance. Moreover, Ingrosso has astutely
dubbed Save The World “a stadium rock dance tune”.
“We try to do different things all the time,” he states.
Ironically, when quizzed on his favourite supergroup,
Ingrosso needs the concept to be explained. He picks
a patriotic example in ABBA, as iconic in Sweden as
they are in Oz: “They’re huge – they’re king and queen.”
But, alas, Ingrosso, in solo DJ/producer mode, has
things to do, places to be – and the interview ends
earlier than scheduled. Does the dude behind Calling
(with his protégé Alesso) have new stuff to plug?
“I’m working on it. I’m actually going to the studio
tomorrow and this week to try to finish something
before the Miami Music Conference in March. You
never know what’s coming up before you go to the
studio – I can’t really say what the name of the single
is before I’ve made it – but, yeah, working, working...”
WHO: Swedish House Mafia
WHEN & WHERE: Sunday 4 March, Future
Music Festival, Arena Joondalup

THE LONG ROAD

MUSIC MISSION
MIXING THE MODERN
AND THE TRADITIONAL, SWAY
MACHINERY ARE SET TO ROCK
THE PERTH FESTIVAL WITH THEIR
DISTILLATION OF WORLD MUSIC.
JEREMIAH LOCKWOOD CHATS
WITH CALLUM TWIGGER ABOUT
CANTORS AND KHAIRA ARBY.

DAN MANGAN TELLS
STUART EVANS THAT THOUGH
HIS BANDMATES SHOULD
PROBABLY WANT TO KILL EACH
OTHER BY NOW, THEY DON’T.

I

n 2011, Canadian indie folk-rock singer Dan Mangan
had not slept in his own bed for more than 25 days.
Such was the singer/songwriter’s itinerary, being
at home was a rarity. “If you have any tips on how to
make it easier I’m all ears,” he laughs. He’s jesting but
there’s seriousness, too. “You have to know that touring
is hard. As a musician, you start by wanting a gig before
wanting to make records and touring the globe. At the
start it’s all a bit of a dream or fantasy, going on tour
with friends and doing what you love doing for little or no
money. When touring becomes your profession, things
change as it’s more about coming to the realisation
that this is life and things have to fit around it.”
Not that he’s whinging; the ever-humble Mangan reckons
he’s fortunate to have been given the chance. “I’m part
of a very hardworking band and we’ve all still got a lot to
learn,” he reckons. It’s been a plentiful few years for the
singer as he’s emerged from the shadows of Canadian
folk culture to become more mainstream and more
recognisable – and not just in his indigenous homeland.
For the wispy-voiced Canadian, the past few years have
marked a growing demand for his music as his trademark
sound and shabby, untidy image has resonated. “I actually
have a hard time believing all the hype,” he laughs.
“I know it’s a cliché, but I’m the biggest critic of my
work. The band and I had some encouraging feedback
from the press over the past few years and we’re just
very fortunate to have been granted this opportunity.”
He believes he’s grown, both musically and ideologically,
over the past few years as he has focused on people
around him. Be it crowds, family or his band, all have
played a part. Mangan and band – consisting of jazz
connoisseurs John Walsh, Kenton Loewen and Gord
Grdina – are tight. “By all means we should probably
want to kill each other by now but we’re passionate
and they’ve been amazing throughout. It actually feels
like we’re growing up together as we’ve developed an
emotional connection. I mean, these are real people who
have kids and other things happening in their lives.”

If previous album Nice, Nice, Very Nice was influenced
by travel and touring, his latest effort, Oh Fortune, is
prone to bursts of melancholy – so much melancholy in
fact that Mangan’s copped criticism for his depressive
lyrics. Although many songs on Oh Fortune are overlain
with uplifting melodies and charming instrumentals,
lyrics that openly spout of death, sorrow, grief and
pity are to be heard right through. “I wanted to make
a record that had a bit of everything and a record that
took people in different directions. The extent of the
album was bigger and it was a real joy to make.”
You can trace the joy of making Oh Fortune to a single
factor: time. “I spent five months making it and it
was a real labour of love,” he explains. “It was nice
to have so much time as it helped figure out what I
actually wanted. It was a very positive experience.”
Described as a bearded rhymester, Mangan’s become
something of a reluctant progressive, moving from
country to country with his trademark guitar and
seemingly crusty beard. Still, he’s adapted and moved
with the times and those times have led some to call
him one of Canada’s most successful exports. It’s good
to report that he’s as down-to-earth as anyone you’re
likely to meet. He’s also wonderfully candid, revealing
his songwriting had taken a hiatus since he finished
Oh Fortune. The good news for fans is that he’s just
started to write again. “If I lost my creativity I may have
to give it all up and become a teacher,” he laughs.
WHO: Dan Mangan
WHAT: Oh Fortune (ABC Music/Universal)
WHEN & WHERE: Wednesday 29 February,
Fly Trap, Fremantle

“T

he idea was that it was going to be an outfit for
me to explore cantorial music, which is European
Jewish spiritual music,” Jeremiah Lockwood,
guitarist of Balkan Beat Box, says of the Sway Machinery,
the multi-faceted world music collective which he has
humbly assembled over the past six years. Speaking quietly
down our early morning line from New York, Lockwood is
both measured and urbane. “The cantor is the singer, the
person who sings the old prayers. It’s a knowledge-based
art form. To be a cantor, you have to have a lot of oral
tradition knowledge about different modal practices and old
pieces, and it’s also an art form that involves a lot of creative
improvisation. My grandfather was a cantor, and I’d wanted
to do a project involving cantorial music for a long time.”
Lockwood is of Ashkenazi Jewish extraction, and evidently
commands a breadth of knowledge on matters of history
and music. Hailing from central Europe, Ashkenazis (from
which Freud, Einstein and Kafka were also descended) have
excelled so thoroughly in the arts and sciences over the last
three hundred years that medical experts have conjectured
individuals of Ashkenazi heritage are predisposed to thrive
in the field of intellectual pursuits. “In the Jewish traditional
music world, we’ve had a lot of support, although there are
certainly more renowned Jewish artists,” says Lockwood.
“I would say in the very traditional world, people aren’t so
aware of developments in pop music in the secular world.
In New York, we have a lot of very Orthodox Jews who are
very supportive of us, who support what we’re trying to do.“
Sway Machinery’s collaboration with Malian chanteuse
Khaira Arby is almost an archetypal world music record;
there are soaring brass sections, mid-tempo drum flairs,
ululating choruses. In 2011’s The House Of Friendly
Ghosts: Volume I, Lockwood and his ever-shifting collective
demarcate the traditional and the modern, and establish
how confident they are shifting between the two. “Going
to Africa has been a goal for everyone. Mali in particular
had been an interest of mine,” Lockwood explains. “A lot

themusic.com.au

of the musical traditions in Mali are very open to religious
influences, they have a deep knowledge of Muslim musical
modes and history. That’s an all-pervasive subtext to
Malian music culture. That’s a big part of Malian culture
and Malian music, and we felt a similarity there. People
were very receptive of what I was trying to do there.
A lot of these traditions have been learnt about from
grandparents, and I could really identify with that.”
Certainly, Sway Machinery boasts a comprehensively
accomplished line-up of musicians. “When I started the
project I had a few close friends who I wanted to work
with. Over the year the line-up has changed, but the
core guys have stayed together. It was an opportunity
to work with a lot of the bands that come out of New
York City,” Lockwood modestly qualifies. Proceeding
from Lockwood, drummer John Bollinger is from Barbez,
bass guitarist Nikhil Yerawadekar from Antibalas.
Machinery’s trumpet and tenor sax/horn section, Jordan
McLean and Stuart Bogie, have spread their talent as
far afield as TV On The Radio and Volney Litmus.
So does Sway Machinery have a mission goal? Are
they trying to unite the world through music? “I was
thinking about that more when I started the project; at
this point, I’m just trying to make music and to draw
on different sources. I don’t really have a mission
anymore, I’m just trying to make music,” Lockwood
asserts. That’s undeniably true, but regardless, Sway
Machinery unite a wealth of different cultures, styles, and
traditions into one gig that you’d be foolish to miss.
WHO: Sway Machinery
WHEN & WHERE: Monday 27 February, Perth
Festival, Festival Gardens, Northbridge

THE DRUM MEDIA • 17

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THE DRUM MEDIA • 19

SINGLES/EPS
WITH SIMON HOLLAND

ON THE RECORD

DEVOUR THE MARTYR
Wasted On The Young
Independent
Woah. From out of the abyss storms the troops
of Devour The Martyr armed with one of the best
debut recordings ever heard. Period. Unbelievably
heavy and remarkably interesting, there is no part
of this record that fails to achieve maximum points.
No weaknesses. It is fucking bullet-proof from start
to finish. The production value is of an international
calibre. Each track is electrifying in its own way
and each member of the band is at the top of their
game. The talent and unmistakable potential of
these four guys is scary. Buy this EP immediately.

LIVE

D

VD

D

EMPIRES LAID WASTE

VD

With The Tide Comes Destruction
Independent

Another ripping local release! Is there some new
energy drink out or something? What the hell?
Empires Laid Waste cover a well-worn track,
setting everything ablaze as they pass. With
The Tide Comes Destruction is a raw and primal
six-tracker in absolute beast mode. Epic songs
sprawl forward connected by driven passages
that are feature-filled and powerful. The vocals
are furiously guttural and filled with foreboding.
The twin-guitar attack take turns in shredding
out phase after phase of brutal assault, and the
drumming sets out at a heart-thumping pace.
These guys gig hard and it’s good to see them
back it up with a badass studio contribution.

THE GRACEMAKERS
The Gracemakers
Independent

AIR

CHARLOTTE GAINSBOURG CLASS ACTRESS
Stage Whisper

Rapprocher

EMI

Because Music/Warner

Carpark

Imagine a time when café culture was fresh and
exciting. From Leederville to SoHo, exotic smells
would pour onto the streets to the sounds of steamers
and albums such as Portishead and Air’s debuts,
whose occupancy of a Bang & Olufsen stereo system
seemed conditional to owning a barista’s license.

Every time Charlotte Gainsbourg releases music, it
sounds completely different to what she’s done before.
This isn’t a case of reinvention or exploring influences.
See, Gainsbourg is known more for her acting – damn
fine acting, too – and approaching the studio with that
mentality means that she seemingly works with her
collaborators in the same way an actor might work with
a director – as a performer collaborating and interpreting
the song. That’s why 5:55 sounds exactly like Air with
Jarvis Cocker-penned lyrics and nothing more, and why
Beck’s fingerprints are all over the marvellous IRM.

Elizabeth Harper has skillfully slipped from one end of
the spectrum to the other; starting out as a reticent folk
singer and evolving into the frontwoman of a three-piece
electro-pop outfit. And, as the name suggests, she has
done so with an element of class, albeit at times this
may be an act, with more style than substance. Their
first LP follows a successful EP that showcased the
trio’s unique use of synths, Harper’s sensual vocals and
lyrical substance. Rapprocher sees the synths remain,
but a shift in the vocals towards straight-up pop.

La Voyage Dans La Lune

The French band’s seventh, La Voyage Dans La Lune
(translation : A Trip To The Moon) percolates a loving
fascination with the 1902 Georges Méliès silent film
of the same name (you’ll recognise it’s imagery from
the cover instantly). Here, Air have created not quite
a nouveau soundtrack to the film, more an evocative,
modernised companion piece inviting you to take
sips to the moon. Paced in typically laid back style,
laced with vintage keyboards and lethargic pianos,
Moon Fever passes the hook from Fatboy Slim’s
Right Here Right Now through a very DJ Shadow-y
filter. While at the heart of the journey, Sonic Armada
quaintly pictures the vintage view of celestia with
rhythmic old farfisas. The only thing that’s out of place
is the kitch PA announcements, briefly dragging the
traveler unwittingly into ‘80s Zucker film territory.
The latter half coasts through space pleasantly enough
but at just 31 minutes, it ends oh-so prematurely, Lava
providing an almost inconspicuous end, as though the
destination hasn’t even been reached. Far too short
and nowhere close to the finery of their debut, La
Voyage... is more of a weak latte than a fine espresso.
MAC MCNAUGHTON

Striking a triangular mix between haunting,
reflective and optimistically upbeat, the soulful
tunes from this Melbourne duo sore upwards
and beyond. The minimalist approach to the
music is betrayed by the intricacies and skill of
their musicianship. Tiffany Kommedal and Kent
Morris blend their talents in perfect unison to
create a relaxed setting in which to lie back
and relax. And while folk is the keyword these
days to describe this sort of structure, there is
nothing folky about the deep sense of heritage and
ancestral warmth injected into The Gracemakers’
work. A balanced sense of warmth and emotion
prevails and it is truly beautiful to behold.

TWISTED AFFECTION
That’s What She Said
Independent
It’s great to see a bunch of young guys having a
crack at this. Pop-punk is a tricky genre to break it
in. It draws in young and inexperienced musicians
looking to get up on stage and blast out something
for their mates. This is what is expected and this
is about where Twisted Affection are at. The chord
progression doubles up on instruments in a way
that somewhat debases the genre, but fuck, it’s
punk-pop for god’s sake, and that’s totally allowed.
This band is fresh and ready to take on the world,
and after a little musical maturation should serve
the pub scene well when the time comes.

ARKAYAN
The Marsh Chapel Experiment
Independent
The milk that gathers at the at the base of my
bowl following the deliciousness of Fruit Loops
is consistently the best tasting shit I have ever
tasted in my life. It is curiously purple and
tastes like everything all at once. Hence, an
example of things mixing with a good outcome,
much like the vibrant, relaxing rock of Arkayan.
Patience is overwhelmingly present but not in
a frustrating way. Each track unfolds at about
just the right pace without meandering too
far from the goal of moving the song forward.
Top-class songwriting, fulfilled with excellent
instrumentals and a top quality release all around.

Stage Whisper is a strange beast, essentially
combining a studio mini-album with a live mini-album
and covering a wider spectrum than you’d expect.
The studio songs range from the Goldfrapp-ian
electro-pop of Terrible Angels and Paradisco to the
acoustic French pop of Memoir. The duet with Noah
& The Whale’s Charlie Fink, Got To Let Go, takes
a Velvet Underground-esque melody and squishes
it through studio wizardry. All The Rain, one of the
higher points, brings out more of the Beck colours.
The live album draws from both IRM and 5:55 and
doesn’t really do much with them. At her best here,
Gainsbourg performs within the tracks and lets
songs like Trick Pony and Heaven Can Wait show
their own brilliance. At her worse she reverts to a
near-spoken word or overly breathy performance,
like the confusing version of Dylan’s Just Like A
Woman. She never engages with the songs or
the performance. Instead, she delivers them with
some distance, leaving the songs as they were
written, like you’d expect from a screen actress.
JASON KENNY

EVANESCENCE

MARCEL DETTMANN

Wind-Up/EMI

MUSIC MAN/N.E.W.S.

With just over five whole years of no album or even
EP release, you would assume that a band might
have taken time to re-establish its roots, experiment
with new sounds, and then release an album that
stands out amongst all of the mediocrity of the
music scene. However, it seems Evanescence have
not decided to go down this path. Evanescence’s
self-titled album is of a very similar sound to their
previous album, The Open Door, which has left the
album possessing little individuality. The album has
an overall formulaic feel to it, and this is where its
downfall lies. All 12 tracks have the same sound and
feel to them (apart from slower and less metal-based
songs, Swimming Home and Lost In Paradise), and
this makes the record become tedious quickly.

Marcel Dettmann is no stranger to leading the world of
techno forward. The Berlin-based Berghain resident is
a figure that constantly pushes the genre forward into
uncharted, futuristic territory, yet manages to seamlessly
preserve its roots and means of expression. It’s been
four years since his scene-defining commercial mix
Berghain 02 was released, and now the dark prince of
techno returns to deliver his second mix CD, Conducted.

Evanescence

Conducted

Luckily however, the band has also decided to stick
to doing what they have always done best. The
band includes occasional touches of high-octave
piano throughout the album, which seems to always
gel so well into their respective songs, hardly ever
going awry. Great uses of this are in songs such
as What You Want, and End Of The Dream. The
vocals, provided by Amy Lee, also continue to be as
good as they have ever been, possessing an almost
operatic sound at times such as in Lost In Paradise.
Sure, Evanescence’s self-titled album shows
little progression from their last release, but
fans that have appreciated their previous work
should be able to easily appreciate it.
STEVE ANDERSON

Kicking things off with the ostentatious Immolare from
Sandwell District, there is a sense of claustrophobia and
suspense that the opening crafts before Dettmann starts
to pick the pace up. Roman Lindau’s Sub Suggestion
heralds the first real change in direction with a tribal
battery that sets the tone. Its off-key synth line contrasts
nicely with the drums that will mutate and underpin
most of the rest of the mix; however, the set does
fluctuate and doesn’t always engage on the same level
on intensity. The next few tracks seem to leave behind
the primeval atmosphere evident throughout most of
the set for a brief moment with Bluemoon Productions’
Night and The Analogue Cops’ Why You Love Me,
before Milton Bradley’s Don’t Phonk brings back that
dark ambiance to the mix. Other standouts include
Morphosis’ Too Far and and Redshape’s The Lesson. From
this point the mix slowly coasts to a relatively sombre
conclusion, but raises itself one more time with the
bittersweet finale of 44A (Hard Wax Forever!) by Shed.
Themed to pay homage to the influential figures
of contemporary techno, Dettmann juggles
difficult material on Conducted but somehow
effortlessly strikes the right balance between
ambience and the dancefloor with this mix.
CAMERON DUFF

20 • THE DRUM MEDIA

themusic.com.au

The easily accessible opening track Keep You is
unashamed electro-pop that keeps the listener engaged
as Harper demands, “Give me what I want”, and
in that instant you just might. However, the initial
euphoria/lust is quickly replaced by the disjointed
Love Me Like You Used To, which echoes the ‘80s
but in a more manufactured manner. The Weekend is
taken straight from the generic pop mould, and is the
track on the album that may enable Class Actress to
break into the mainstream market – as they appear
eager to do. Missed and Bienvenue are the saviors
of Rapprocher; catchy, Ladyhawke-esque guitar riffs
marry with the vocals and synth-led bassline perfectly.
The appeal of style over substance is a yearning for
commercial success, and is evident on Rapprocher. Yet
there are tracks that capture the seductive elements of
Harper as a vocalist, and the slick and clever work of the
production duo. The result is a collection of songs that,
rather than a complete album that commands listening
from start to finish, is instead a collection of songs
that might help you pick up the fresher at O Week.
TOM BRAGG

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Twentysomething: Music From
The ABC TV Series
ABC/Universal
Jump into that abandoned shopping trolley and get ready
to surf summer’s sidewalks. Twentysomething: Music
From The ABC TV Series is about narrowly avoiding life’s
power poles at extreme velocity. This predominantly indiepop 18-track release has a going-nowhere-but-goingeverywhere attitude that proves anything is possible,
even with zero dollars and a snap-lock bag for a wallet.
Most of the artists featured are Unearthed bands
recognisable from triple j radio waves during 2011; Jinja
Safari, Big Scary, Polygon Palace and The Keepsakes.
The recognisable Run Wild from Dead Letter Chorus has
mischief written all over it with raw jungle drumming,
clapping, hits of tambourine and chanted lyrics. Loon
Lake’s Into The Office begs for you to bounce around
with all its playful distortion and vocals that reach
notes with animated strain. Polygon Palace’s electronic
teeny-bopping number Pick Up The Pieces fashions
an awkward mental image of turning up to school
without undies, and the sitar in Jinja Safari’s Peter
Pan gives an elsewhere melody. Lo-fi tracks from
Tales In Space and The Keepsakes have a low-budget
feel suited to the financial struggles of your 20s. Big
Scary’s Falling Away tugs at the heartstrings with
sombre keys and breathy vocals and timeliness between
drum and piano hammering is incredibly satisfying.
Every song relates to the mishaps conquered by
these two best mates in the comedy series as
they illogically swindle the system to maintain their
proclaimed lifestyle. Basically, when life gives you
lemons, just say “Fuck the lemons”, and bail.
KATIE ROLSTON

FRONTROW@DRUMPERTH.COM.AU

THIS WEEK IN

ARTS

THURSDAY 23
Animator’s Hour – every Thursday
night, Animator’s Hour will promote
local Perth animators and their
work, as well as showcasing other
animated work from Australia and
the world. Northbridge Piazza Super
Screen, 8:30pm.

FRIDAY 24
Blogging the Revolution – join
Marieke Hardy, John Birmingham,
and Paul French as they discuss the
art of the blog and tackle questions
such as who blogs, why and what
do they know anyway? Part of Perth
Writers’ Festival. Romeo Tent, Perth
Writers Festival Precinct, 7pm.
The 14th Tale – a free-flowing
narrative that tells the hilarious
exploits of a mischief maker who
grew up on the clay streets of
Nigeria, the rooftops of Dublin
and finally London. Inua Ellams
vividly recreates the characters
that punctuated his upbringing in
deft and beautiful poetry. Part of
Perth Writers’ Festival. The Dolphin
Theatre & The Octagon Theatre,
UWA, 7:30pm. Repeats Sudnay 26.
Home Sweet Home – using our
special cardboard kit, you can
design and decorate a dream home,
nightclub, surf shop, bird sanctuary
or whatever you like – the more
imaginative the better. Part of Perth
Festival. Opening day, 12pm. WA
Museum until 3 March.

SATURDAY 25
Driving Into Walls – drawn
from over 500 starkly honest and
highly confidential interviews
with Western Australian teens,
this intimate and confronting play
draws back the curtain on what it
means to be young in our modern,
media-driven society. Part of Perth
Festival. Opening night, 7pm. Studio
Underground, State Theatre Centre
of WA until 3 March.
Women Of Letters – co-curators
Marieke Hardy and Michaela
McGuire present five brilliant writers
in a lively homage to the lost art of
letter writing. Live missives and a
rowdy panel discussion, all as the
sun sets over the Sunken Garden.
Readers for this event are: writer/
illustrator Nicki Greenberg, author/
poet Cate Kennedy, author Krissy
Kneen, journalist/philosopher Anne
Manne, and author Charlotte Wood.
Part of Perth Writers’ Festival.
Sunken Garden, Crawley, 7pm.

SUNDAY 26
The Gourmet Farmer at Perth
Writers Festival – to be chaired
by Jane Cornes, as we hear from
chef and food critic Matthew Evans.
Evans turned his back on the city
to embark on a new life on a farm
in Tasmania to further his quest for
the finest food. Winthrop Hall, UWA,
12:30pm.
Ennio Morricone conducts Ennio
Morricone – The multi-award
winning Italian Maestro of film
music performs in Australia for
the first time. Indulge in a magical
night of cinematic splendour as the
legendary composer for films such

as The Good, The Bad And The Ugly,
The Mission, and Cinema Paradiso
leads a 100-piece orchestra and
100-voice choir through his greatest
works. Part of Perth Festival.
Burswood Theatre, 7:30pm.

ONGOING
Hijacked III: Contemporary
Photography from Australia and
the UK – more than 24 artists from
opposite sides of the globe offer
unique photographs ranging from
oblique takes on portraiture and
collage to snapshots of society at
its best and worst. This exhibition
presents far reaching photographic
practices which question what it
means to look, catch or construct
images. PICA until 8 April.
Katherine Perry: My Mamiya &
Me. – Perry, along with her Mamiya,
explored the country capturing slight
glimpses that seem to go unnoticed
by the human eye. The Mamiya
takes medium format photographs,
which when exposed shows the
natural and raw image in its true
form. Feast Your Eyes Gallery Space,
Fremantle until 1 March.
Lluis Fuzzhound: Solo Exhibition
– Fuzzhound has established
himself as an accomplished
painter, illustrator, and cartoonist,
recently adding 2D animation to
his repertoire, which has seen his
characters bought to life in film
clips. The exhibition will feature all
new one-off pieces, with a limited
edition Hole In The Wall T-shirt
designed by Fuzzhound available
from the gallery while stocks last.
Hole In The Wall, Fremantle until 3
March.
Spaced: Art Out of Place – IASKA’s
inaugural biennial event of socially
engaged art. Fremantle Arts Centre
until 11 March.
Tom Malone Prize 2003-2012
& Translucence: Contemporary
Glass – 2012 marks a decade of the
Tom Malone Prize. This acquisitive
award for Australian glass artists
has been the platform for the Gallery
to collect some of the best work
being made in the country today.
The combined exhibitions feature
work by 2012’s shortlisted makers,
all past winners and a selection
of glass works from the State Art
Collection. AGWA until 2 April.
The unknown by the more
unknown – David Egan presents
a charismatic constellation of
paintings and objects examining pop
culture mysteries and vernacular
theories – in which established
methods of knowing are hijacked
and subverted by the incurably
curious – investigating the
infinite potential of interpretation
and understanding in cultural
communication. Central to The
unknown... is an interactive
sculptural book that, when
manipulated by the audience,
produces a generative soundtrack
that fills the gallery with an
oscillating musical scale. A
mysterious soundtrack is created by
which a guided meditation on each
painting can take place. OK Gallery
until 18 March.

THE GENIUSES BEHIND VIRAL HIT
ITALIAN SPIDERMAN ARE RESPONSIBLE
FOR THE FUNNIEST TV SHOW OF THE
YEAR: DANGER 5 – A PASTICHE OF
MEN’S-ONLY MAGS THAT RECALLS
THUNDERBIRDS AND OSS 117, AND
BOASTS NAZI DINOSAURS. GUY DAVIS
TALKS TO CO-CREATOR DARIO RUSSO.
Nazis: nobody likes ‘em. Except,
well, maybe other Nazis. But the
one good thing they have offered
the human race is an instant go-to
villain for pop culture. You never
need to delve too deeply into their
motivation or even offer up a token
sympathetic one. Nope, in the
words of Dario Russo, co-creator
of the new SBS series Danger 5
(which has its fair share of nasty
Nazis), “you don’t even need to
explain why they’re the bad guy,
you just have to slap a swastika on
there”.
Danger 5 slaps a swastika on there,
and it slaps on a few other things
as well – lizard super-soldiers,
talking animals, and suave secret
agents who make Sterling Archer
look positively second-rate. A
glorious pastiche of the ‘Men’s
Only’ adventure yarns of the ‘60s
and ‘70s, with nods to the lurid
era’s Italian cinema aesthetic
and Japanese monster-movie
conventions, it’s the latest creation
of Russo and David Ashby, who
previously collaborated on the cult
YouTube hit Italian Spiderman.
“David and I have long been fans of
a peculiar genre of magazine known
as the ‘men’s adventure’ magazine,
very popular in the ‘60s and ‘70s,”
explains Russo. “They would have
pulpy short stories that would
more often than not involve WWII
scenarios that had vulgar Nazis
torturing scantily-clad Allied women
in exotic locations. They would
have wonderfully explicit cover art,
like rampaging Nazi baboons! We
looked at a lot of these covers and
they seemed to get more and more
ridiculous as we went further along,
so we wanted to create a show
that emulated this pseudo-WWII
universe, one filled with surreal and
historically inaccurate elements
bathed in this ‘60s/’70s aesthetic.”
And the result is this bizarro six-part
comedy that pits its faux force

five – “Jackson from the USA,
Tucker from Australia, Ilsa from
Russia, Claire from Britain, and
Pierre from Europe” (gotta love that
“from Europe”) – against the worst
excesses of Hitler’s reign of terror.
We’re talking “Josef Mengele’s
perverted Antarctic death circus”
and “Erwin Rommel’s golden murder
casino”.

provided the entertainment
including Cupcake’s hula routine
during the interval with the lovely
Jelly Fish Opera closing the awards.
Artrage director Marcus Canning
warmly thanked the festival artists
and boasted of the success of
the show. He told the crowd that
he’s excited for the future, which
is something all Fringe-goers can
agree with – we look forward to
another great festival in 2013.

SIDESHOW
MACABRE

“At no point in the series do we ever
condone Nazism,” Russo helpfully
points out. “We’re re-forming them
into this supervillainous entity rather
than a historically accurate picture.
And we’ll probably be able to do that
forever. No one ever has a problem
with Nazis as a bad guy.”
With the popularity of Italian
Spiderman as their calling card,
Russo and Ashby were offered a
deal by SBS to submit three ideas,
one of which would be selected for
development. “Danger 5 was the
most ambitious,” says Russo.
And despite the production’s low
budget, the Danger 5 team was
keen to provide the most bang
for their buck. “We had Italian
Spiderman to prove our worth when
it came to making pastiche of this
kind of cinema,” says Russo. “It
proved we could deliver. With this,
everything was painstakingly put
together. We were being serious
about the effects we created. It’s
going to be a ridiculous show, well
outside the sphere of credibility, so
the production values don’t need
to be hammed up. We’ve got this
much money to make six Nazi lizardsoldier masks – make the best ones
you can!”
WHAT: Danger 5
WHERE & WHEN: Screening
Mondays, 9:30pm, from 27
February on SBS1 / Released on
DVD 21 March (Madman)

AS HIJACKED III LAUNCHES AT PICA AS
PART OF THE VISUAL ARTS PROGRAM
OF PERTH FESTIVAL, MARCIA CZERNIAK
SPEAKS TO CURATOR LEIGH ROBB
ABOUT THIS GLOBAL EXHIBITION WITH A
LOCAL FLAIR.
The third installment of the Hijacked
series brings us back to the
motherland, featuring 24 artists and
over 130 works from Australia and
the UK. The exhibition’s co-curator
and resident PICA curator, Leigh
Robb, says the exhibition charts the
ideas and visions of contemporary
photographers.
“Through portraiture, digital collage,
archival images, documentary
snap shots, internet grabs, and
refined photographic tableaus, the
artists tell us something about the
socio-cultural landscapes of the
people, places and ideas present
when taking, or making their
photographs,” explains Robb.
“Their take on subjects as diverse
as curious weekend leisure pursuits,
gender politics and displaced
Indigenous culture, and the range of
the technological, conceptual and
aesthetic forms harnessed to depict
these worlds, also speaks of the
current state of the photographic
medium.
“Rather than looking at outmoded
concepts of national identity and
overloaded historical or colonial
relationships and setting up
dichotomies and looking at the
differences in practice and ideas
in photography, the project hijacks
those ideas and allows local and
global positions to coexist and
blur without being didactic about
nationalism.”
In various forms, the Hijacked
series has been around since 2002,
when Mark McPherson from Perth
publishing house Big City Press
conceived the Hijacked zine and
further developed the concept into
an exhibition in 2008 with Hijacked
I: Australia/USA and in 2010 with
Hijacked II: Australia/Germany. Robb
says McPherson has been focused
on constantly finding opportunities
for Australian artists to be launched
onto the world stage, and in
collaboration with this exhibition,
there is also the simultaneous
release of the third edition of the
Hijacked book series.

Robb says the exhibition came to
be a part of the 2012 Perth Festival
programme after Margaret Moore,
who curates the Festival’s visual
arts component, worked closely
with Robb and McPherson through
PICA. Her support of the Hijacked
series saw its inclusion into the
festival, again giving the exhibition
local prominence on an international
level.

are entertained by burlesque and
cancan dancers, acrobats, trapeze
artists, drag queens, magicians,
contortionists, and a guy who likes
to hammer nails into sensitive parts
of his body and wouldn’t be out
of place in the Jim Rose Circus.
As proclaimed by the Ringmaster,
our freaks are on display, and
they surely were a unique bunch,
but more to the point, they were
an amazingly talented bunch as
well. The trapeze and acrobatic

components of the show were
breathtaking and the segment with
the angel-like performer and her
partner was simply stunning. The
infamous Mr Pustra, flown in from
overseas to be a part of the show,
was solid but honestly, it was the
home-grown talent in the show that
really made it as good as it was.

“There is a real sense of creating a
platform for local talent. The book
is designed by the visionary local
graphic designer Andy Simionato,
who also lectures at ECU and really
took the book, and in turn the
exhibition, on a different course.
Paring back the design, tailoring the
image layout to keep the artist’s
work to scale and presenting a
back-to-back, unbroken sequence
of images, in alphabetical order,
and putting all the essays and texts
at the end rather than dividing the
artists or writers into AUS/UK.”
Working alongside Robb and
McPherson is also Louise Clements,
artistic director of QUAD Gallery,
Derby in the UK, where an exhibition
of Hijacked 3 is going to be launched
on 2 March.
“Louise had been involved in
Hijacked II and had worked with
Mark, and so when we came
together as co-editors for the book,
we worked together to dove-tail our
programming at PICA and at QUAD
to simultaneously present two
exhibitions, one in the northern and
one in the southern hemisphere.
“It is both global and resolutely
local. The artists are from all over
the world but the project originated
in WA and also has a sister
exhibition in the UK at QUAD – a
truly antipodean show that takes
place across hemispheres.”
WHAT: Hijacked III: Contemporary
Photography from Australia and
the UK
WHERE & WHEN: PICA until 8
April

FRINGE WORLD
FRINGE WORLD
AWARDS
The Bakery, 19/02/2012
Unfortunately not all of the 900+
Fringe World performers made it to
the awards ceremony last Sunday
night, which isn’t necessarily a
bad thing, since the venue was
comfortably full. Among the festival
talent, promoters, and sponsors
were those who turned up to enjoy
22 • THE DRUM MEDIA

a pleasant evening dedicated to
the celebration of the best in the
festival. Of the many nominees, City
Of Shadows was a clear favourite
taking away two prizes, the RTR
music award and the Martin Sims
Award for the most promising WA
work from the festival. Blue Room
Theatre Summer Nights took the
prize for best indie venue and the
Briefs burlesque show was aptly
awarded the Little Creatures Circus
Award. Sugar Blue Burlesque

OLIVIA GARDNER

The Spiegeltent
Forget any childhood memories
you have of the circus because
they are lame compared to Perth’s
Twisted Vaudeville Circus’ latest
offering, Sideshow Macabre. You
definitely won’t find any lions and
horsies in this show, no; instead you

Season finished
MARCIA CZERNIAK

FRONTROW@DRUMPERTH.COM.AU

C U LT U R A L

CRINGE

WITH MARCIA
CZERNIAK

he was set up and oh yeah, here
are some letters he left for you
explaining it all and, even better, here
is the heap of money he left you.
From there the most logical thing to
do of course is go to the Hamptons
and spend your dad’s money on a
house there and plot to ruin the lives
of all those who wronged your poor,
innocent, dead, dad.
Now in those terms, you could be
thinking, ‘what a crap premise for
a show’. But where Revenge could
fail dismally into cheesy drama,
aka Ringer, it doesn’t because of
some good casting and writing.
Emily VanCamp is perfect as Emily
Thorne/Amanda Clarke, daughter
of the wrongfully incarcerated
David Clarke (because if you are
about to launch into a plethora of
vengeful acts, you need to change
your name). In the first episode it is
abundantly clear that VanCamp can
go from being able to play sweet
new girl one second and calculating
evil mastermind the next. Madeline
Stowe is also perfect as Victoria
Grayson, the woman who Emily’s
dead dad was having an affair with
when he wasn’t so dead. It seems
that when this affair was found
out and things were going belly
up work-wise, Victoria’s husband
made David the scapegoat. And
in the first episode we see Emily
engaged to Grayson’s son, who just
happens to get shot while everyone
is partying at their engagement do.
And that is the beauty of this show.
Just two episodes in, there is so
much over the top wank it is hard
not to watch. And it’s all set in
the Hamptons. Who better to take
down than rich people with beach
houses who have more money than
cents – I mean sense?

“This is not a story about
forgiveness”. Although completely
obvious and a little ‘duh’ considering
the title of the series, what a way
to introduce a television show. I
love a good over-the-top drama,
and the new offering of Revenge
is definitely on the path to being a
winner. Channel 7 kept taunting us
with flashes of it over summer and
kept telling us it would be on after
the tennis. Well, for those of us in
which patience is a virtue not quite
possessed, having to wait nearly
two weeks until after the tennis was
not appreciated. But finally it is here
and after its premiere last week, it
was worth the wait.
The first episode had everything you
want from a drama – murder, illicit
affairs, plotting and scheming, lavish
parties on a boat, lavish parties on
a marquee just off the beach, the
quiet townie with a soft spot for the
girl he once knew and whose dog
he still has, the gorgeous boy next
door and his evil, vindictive mother,
and, of course, the girl who wants
payback on all the people who put
her father in jail for a crime he didn’t
commit, taking away her only family
and forcing her to become a ward
of the state and thus ruining her
childhood and life forever. And it
is all told in flashbacks – everyone
loves flashbacks!
But as luck would have it, after
growing up and thinking your father
was a murderer and had destroyed
the lives of many people, you
become emancipated and as the
gates of what looks like your juvie
centre open and there is someone
claiming your dad wasn’t a murderer,

PERTH FESTIVAL R E V I E W S

GIVEAWAYS

JACK CHARLES V
THE CROWN

LIKE CRAZY

When a British college student (Felicity Jones) falls for her American
classmate (Anton Yelchin) they embark on a passionate and life-changing
journey only to be separated when she violates the terms of her visa. Like
Crazy explores how a couple faces the real challenges of being together and
of being apart. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Best Picture at the 2011
Sundance Film Festival and of the Special Jury Prize for Best Actress for
Felicity Jones, Like Crazy depicts both the hopefulness and the heartbreak of
love. Opening in cinemas 1 March, thanks to Paramount we’ve FIVE in-season
double passes to giveaway. For your chance to win one, head to facebook.
com/drumperth.
Two of our favourite things in the world are BBQs and New Zealand. Thanks
to Random House, we can now have both of these in convenient book form.
In Stoked, highly regarded NZ chef Al Brown (owner, Depot, Auckland; host,
Hunger for the Wild) shares his experiences of traditional outdoor cooking
methods from New Zealand’s diverse cultures – a hangi at Matahiwi Marae
on the Wanganui River, cooking tandoor with his Wellington grocer, and
putting a pig in a pipe with a third-generation Chinese New Zealander. Al is a
keen hunter and gatherer and forages in Canterbury for porcini mushrooms,
collects seaweed on the Wairarapa coast, and goes hunting for deer, as
well as trout fishing. The book is brimming with great recipes and stunning
photography, and celebrates the rewards of eating outdoors. Thanks to
Random House we’ve a copy of the book to giveaway. For your chance to win
it, head to facebook.com/drumperth.

Studio Underground, State Theatre
Centre of WA
Theatre is about storytelling
and Jack Charles is one hell of
a storyteller. After the reception
he received from Amiel CourtinWilson’s documentary Bastardy,
in which he was the subject,
Charles decided to delve into his
story a little further and gives us
the starkly honest and open tale
Jack Charles v The Crown. Joined
onstage by a three-piece band,
the play describes the life of this
69-year-old man from being a
member of the Stolen Generation
and growing up a ward of the
State to his foray into acting, his
heroin addiction, and criminal
history. Within those parts of his
life he talks about the moments
that stood out, like meeting his
mother and siblings, learning how
to work a kiln in jail and the love
of creating with clay, as well as
hinting at the trauma of sexual
and physical abuse as a child.
But there is no ‘woe is me’ to
this story; Charles is clean and
on the path to redemption. Which
is where the play comes to its
major scene, with Charles standing
in front of a court asking for his
record to be sealed so he can fulfill
his path of helping others who
are going through what he has
been through. And as he asks the
audience “do my trespasses weigh
as much as those visited upon
me?” one thing is mighty clear: no
matter whether you would say yes
or no, Jack Charles v The Crown
celebrates the transformations
we are capable of undertaking as

human beings and our capacity
for forgiveness.
Until 23 February
MARCIA CZERNIAK

RAOUL
Regal Theatre
‘Incredible’; it’s a word this scribe
can’t be confident they’ve ever
actually used in six years or so of
reviewing for this mag, though it’s a
word that’s absolutely necessary to
use in describing the multitudes of
magic that Raoul conjured up over
its hour-and-a-half journey through a
fantastical world like no other. French
wizard James Thiérrée invited the
audience to enter his mind, one that
seemed to teeter dangerously on the
edges of madness, but in doing so
made us laugh and feel amazement
as we happily plunged into a universe
where kitchen utensils became
weapons and elephants and jellyfish
needed to be assessed as friend
or foe. Thiérrée’s mastery of body
and balance, comedy and circus
made for mind-blowing physical
theatre, his knack for delving into the
absurd without the use of language
something so special to witness. The
grandson of Charlie Chaplin, his ability
to suspend our disbelief, combined
with the superbly inventive set design
and props, turned the audience into
children, naïve and trusting in our
complete immersion in this fantastical
dreamscapes and smiling away like
nothing else mattered in the real
world. Yes, this is a truly incredible
piece of theatre, and a credit to the
Perth Festival for bringing it over.
Until 26 February
AAROM WILSON

GIG
OF
THE
WEEK:
NEON INDIAN, SLOWCLUB @ FESTIVAL GARDENS
The brainchild of Alan Palomo, Neon Indian is headed to WA for a special Perth Festival appearance at the
new Festival Gardens in the Perth Cultural Centre. Straight off the bat, if you haven’t been there yet then
you are missing out on a special, relaxed evening on the rolling hills of astro-turf, a crazy water feature and
chilled, good times making it a pretty damn neat nightspot as is. However, this Sunday 26 February you can
get even more chill(wave) with the maestro Neon Indian celebrating his cracking sophomore LP Era Extraña,
joined on stage by a live band and supported by the UK’s Slow Club – the duo of Rebecca Taylor and Charles
Watson having released a little ditty of their own last year in Paradise, their take on doo-wop and a frazzled,
fragile representation of soul-inspired rock. Both coming off rad albums, both rad live acts, all at a rad venue;
this can only turn out supremely well. Tickets through perthfestival.com.au.

DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE
FESTIVAL GARDENS, NORTHBRIDGE 17/02/12
One of the most anticipated dates of the Perth Festival
saw a mixed group of ages enjoying a beverage in the
softly-lit junkyard that is the Festival Gardens. With
seven albums under their belt, the latest being released
early last year, Seattle quartet Death Cab For Cutie
opted for pleasing their loyal fans with a smorgasbord
of songs spanning their lengthy career, opening with
popular favourite Lack Of Colour before sliding forward
a couple of albums to I Will Possess Your Heart and
back to Crooked Teeth. The outdoor setting was perfect
for Death Cab’s brand of atmospheric pop, as they
repeatedly left the crowd in silence between songs –
the only drawback being Gibbard’s vocals frequently
getting lost in the mix. The band proved their prowess
as a live act as they toyed with the arrangements of the

songs: extending intros, dancing around climaxes and
continually swapping instruments – even in the middle
of songs – which brings us to the highlight of the show,
a stirring rendition of We Looked Like Giants. An extra
drum kit was commandeered by Gibbard mid-song
as bandmates Chris Walla and Nick Harmer swapped
guitar for bass and back again. Set-ender Soul Meets
Body saw Gibbard’s guitar play up, causing him to
take to the front of the stage with the mic, tossing
it to the floor at song’s end and walking off stage.
An encore saw the frontman apologise: “I unleashed
my inner punk-rock”, before launching into A Movie
Script Ending, Marching Bands Of Manhattan and
Transatlanticism. A magical night had by all.
ANDY SNELLING

FRONTLASH

BACKLASH

SNAPPY FELLOWS

WHY RI RI, WHY?!

Big ups to Henry & Aaron for their latest short It’s
A Snap, and to CIT for allowing them the artistic
freedom to spill their blood all over the assignment
that’s quickly approaching two million internet stabs.
With the scriptwriters from Community amongst
ADALITA
those laughing, we’re expecting these locals to be
snapping their fingers in Hollywood in no time at all.

RUDDY ENTERTAINING
Will K-Rudd’s F-bomb footage help his political
standing? Probably not. Will it continue to provide a
constant source of amusement? Fucking definitely.

RAOULLY BRILLIANT
Never have we seen such a spellbinding explosion of
imagination, music, comedy, physical wonderment
and visual magic as Raoul. PIAF, thankyou for
bringing this amazing feast for the senses to Perth.

Worrying news with Rihanna inviting ex-puncher
Chris Brown to sing on her new song Birthday Cake,
his first line being, “Girl I wanna fuck you right now/
Been a long time/I’ve been missing your body.” If Ri
Ri continues to allow this relationship to re-blossom,
we fear she may need a body bag for her next b’day.

ALL THAT JIZZ
We thought we’d never hear a bigger cock on radio
than Kyle Sandilands, but all that changed when
UK station Jazz FM’s programming was interrupted
for five minutes on Saturday with either a porno or
some live studio sex going to air. Reports the station
is changing its name to Jizz FM are unconfirmed.

THE GOOD SUN?
We’re not surprised Rupert Murdoch is launching
a new Sunday paper in the UK with more
LANIE LANE
Sun staffers arrested last week on corruption
charges, there’s no shortage of news PIC
to fillBY
it. CC HUA

Mark Stewart used to play in Horsell Common and he’s
since formed a new project called Jonesz, who released
their 2010 record Betty’s Soup, before last year’s Gruffalo.
They spread the love in WA Thursday 23 February at Prince
Of Wales supporting Coerce; Friday 24 at Norfolk Basement;
and Saturday 25 at The Bird supporting Pond.

MUNICIPAL
WASTE

GOLD METAL

Show your support for Nails Of Imposition, Khariot,
Empires Laid Waste, Reaper’s Riddle and Aussie metal
Friday 24 February at the Civic Hotel, as long-running site
WesternFront.com.au raise funds for the bands featured
on its up-coming Australian Metal Compilation: Volume 1
album, which will be given out for free after Soundwave.

FISHERMAN’S FRIEND

Following on from last years acclaimed performances
at the Nannup Music festival, Kimberley based
singer/songwriter Wil Thomas returns for to promote
his debut album Fisherman’s Bend. He brings his
dusty blend of folk and rock, with a nod toward the
blues, to the X-Wray Café, Friday 24 February. The
evening features special guest Bec Schofield of the
Dave Mann Collective, $5 from 8pm.

NIGHT OWLS

Big Day Out’s over, now Big Night Out, Saturday 25
February at The Civic Hotel, featuring The Meaning
Of, Animal, Sleeping Giant, Brutus, The Loved
Dead, Ben Merito, Nevsky Prospekt, We Build
Pyramids and Ozmonaut, $12 from 7pm. It’s been
11 years since the last night out, and Antonella De
Gregoriis and Jimmy Thompson have teamed up once
again for a night of mayhem.

SOUTH WEST SECONDS

RIGHT CHEMISTRY

After two successful EPs and touring, The Chemist have
finally written and recorded their debut album and they
wanna show you their dark, quirky and brooding new
material, supported by The Sun Orchestra and Runner, $10
from 8pm. Freo kids catch them at The Fly Trap Friday 2
March, with Sonpsilo Circus and Shy Panther supporting.

LET’S GET PHYSICAL

International superstar of studio, stage and screen, Olivia
Newton-John returns for A Summer Night with the West
Australian Symphony Orchestra. She’ll be rocking all her
hits including You’re The One That I Want, Summer Nights,
Physical, Xanadu and so many more. Special guest Jon
English supports at the Burswood Theatre, Friday 24 and
Saturday 26 February. Tickets through Ticketek.

BIT RICH

Garage folk-rockers Rich Widow play their first Northbridge
gig for the year on Saturday 25 February with Violet Scene,
Neutral Native and Hoot & Howl at Ya Ya’s. With new tunes,
new backing vocals and a new outlook on the world the
boys from Rich Widow are raring to go and ready to put on
a show. $10 from 8pm.

New film Like Crazy opens at Luna from next Friday
24 February and the opening night will feature a prescreening celebration from 7pm with live music from
Kathryn Rollins. Also available as part of the ticket are
some cheeky beverages and some food, get along to
lunapalace.com.au for all the details.

Four months after getting together, Twisted
Affection launch their debut self-titled album at The
Rocket Room Friday 24 February. With high energy
shows, killer melodies and throwbacks to catchy
old school punk riffs, the bands debut album sets
the tone for good things to come. 10 Past 6, Kill
Teen Angst, The Corner and Here Come The Cavalry
support. $10 from 8pm.

GIMME MORE

The annual fundraiser for the homeless at Fremantle Arts
Centre, Gimme Shelter, is on again Saturday 25 February
with Jill Birt and Alsy Macdonald from The Triffids
together with Adrian Hoffman (The Morning Night).
They’re supported by Felicity Groom, Dave Mann and The
Starlight Hotel Choir. $25 plus BF via FAC and the usuals
for this not-for-profit event.

DOOM & GLOOM

White Trash Heroes 5 smashes its way into Ya Ya’s
Friday 24 February, with a cracking three way line-up
of Shimmergloom, Broken Royale and Damn Few.
Shimmergloom are looking to get back into the studio and
start recording their next EP/single to be released soon,
following the successful release of last year’s Unfamiliar
Nights EP. $8 from 8pm.

GREAT HYTES

Prog/psych rockers Hyte touchdown in The Fly Trap
Saturday 25 February, to deliver their groov-acious and
tantalizing blend of prog, psyche and hard rock. Keep your
ears and eyes peeled for there debut release out midyear.
They’re supported by fellow hard rockers State Of Order
and newcomers Queens Blvd from 8pm, $10.

PARK LIVE

The Vincent Film Project connects with the Live In The
Park Concerts to finish on a summer high note Sunday
26 February at Hyde Park. Set to the backdrop of short
films set in/about the Town Of Vincent, Sea Of Tunes will
deliver an authentic summer setlist of classic songs from
one of the biggest bands in history – The Beach Boys.
Free from 4pm.

TWISTED SISTER

BANANA BOAT

International electric violin virtuoso Rupert
Guenther’s new band Banana Theory are stepping
out this weekend to shake things up. Sunday 26
February they play Drum’s Gignition at The Swan
Basement, before shows at X-Wray Café (March 10)
and the Charles Hotel (March 20). He’s combining his
sound with the Soanes Sisters, for rock, psychedelic
and blues influenced originals.

TEN THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT
STONEFIELD

1. To pass time at airports, we enjoy going for joy
rides on baggage trolleys.
2. The reason we’re coming back to Perth this time
around is because we missed out on Adelaide and
Perth on the Big Day Out tour, and those are two of
our favourite places to play. Perth audiences have an
amazing vibe, so we love sharing our music in the
west!
3. We were playing shows in Melbourne when Holly
was eight years old.
4. Some of our other hobbies include: Amy – cooking
and craft; Holly – craft; Sarah – photography; Hannah
– guitar is her only hobby…
5. Our new EP to be released very soon is our

26 • THE DRUM MEDIA

AGAINST THE GRANEY
proudest work so far. We’re so excited to share it
with everyone.
6. This will be the fourth time visiting/playing in
Perth.
7. Perth is where we were asked to play
Glastonbury! After playing our set at the One
Movement festival, we were invited over.
8. Everyone thinks Sarah is the shyest member
of our band, but she is the craziest by far. She
has a great sense of humour and when she was
younger, she even came up with a “Sarah 2,” her
insane split personality that had us in laughing
fits.
9. Amy was the lead singer of her high school
soul band.
10. Somebody made a club remix of our song Yes
Master. We never released it, but it was pretty
crazy hearing it as a dance tune.
WHAT: Bad Reality EP (Wunderkind)
WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 23 February,
Rosemount Hotel, North Perth; Friday
24, Prince Of Wales, Bunbury

While in town to play at the Perth Writers’ Festival,
maverick Australian songwriter Dave Graney will
be stopping by Mojo’s for a solo show Sunday 26
February. Graney created seminal new wave albums
with The Moodists, before forming bands The Coral
Snakes and The Lurid Yellow Mist. Supported by
Tomas Form, Odette Mercy and Adam Brown, $15
from 6pm.

SETTLING DOWN

It’s been a ‘long time no Settlers Tavern’ for awesome
foursome The DomNicks. That’s all set to change as the
garage soulsters rock there Friday 24 February. The band
will play two big sets from their debut EP Hey Rock ‘N
Roller and the soon to be released full length 12 tracker
CD with the tentative title of Super Real.

AUTUMN APPROACHES

Fresh from supporting The Whitlams and Sons &
Daughters, The Autumn Isles venture down to
Fremantle from 6pm Sunday 26 February to play two
sets at the Newport Hotel. Support comes from Wesley
Fuller from the brilliant power pop masters Hurricane
Fighter Plane. Entry as always, is free.

themusic.com.au

FURNACE

ALL THINGS HEAVY FROM THE BUBBLING DEPTHS
OF THE METAL MELTING POT WITH TRISTAN
BROOMHALL, FOR ONE LAST TIME.
Love them or hate them, the comical velocity of
Dragonforce has spawned some of the catchiest hits
within the genre of epic speed/power metal in recent
years, as well as infuriating countless Guitar Hero
players. The group have dropped a new track, Fallen
World, on fans this week with the added claim that
it’s their fastest song to date. Hit up their Myspace or
Facebook to judge for yourself. The track will appear on
their upcoming album, The Power Within, which is the
British group’s first album with new guitarist Hudson.
It’s due out in mid-April.
We’re just under two months out from getting our mitts
on the new Municipal Waste album, The Fatal Feast:
Waste In Space, and the Richmond, Virginia thrash
quartet have been kind enough to let loose the title
track ahead of the April 10 and 13 release dates. It’s the
group’s fifth LP release and their first out through Nuclear
Blast Records after parting ways with Earache. The 16
track thrash-a-thon even features some curious guest
appearances like Steve Moore of Zombi, the incredible
Pitsburgh space-rock duo, which could explain the
...Waste In Space subtitle. A video for the new track is
said to be on the way as well. Also, depending on what
magazines you subscribe to, you’ve probably noticed a
few more flexi-discs finding their way into the pages as
subscriber giveaways. This month Decibel subscribers
will receive a special green flexi of Religion Proof, which
didn’t make it onto the disc. It’s also available to stream.
If you’ve been missing Andrew Haug on The Racket you
can catch the him on Soundwave’s Pirate Radio. He’s
interviewing a slew of acts from this year’s line-up and
last week we heard from Paradise Lost, Times Of Grace
and Gojira, the latter of which gave details of a new
album due out in Autumn this year. It will be the band’s
fifth album and their first on Roadrunner Records. Catch
the latest episode of Haugmetal tonight (Thursday),
8-10pm AEDT. Speaking of The Racket, fellow SPA writer
Lochlan Watt has been confirmed to soon take over the
reigns of triple j’s flagship headbanging program.
New Zealand metalcore outfit Antagonist A.D. have
signed with U.S. label Mediaskare Records, home
to Bury Your Dead and It Prevails. Fans will know
that the quartet have recorded a new album and that
album has a name now, Nothing From No One, and
with the new label on board it’s due out mid-year. In
the meantime they’ve made last year’s EP release,
Old Bones Make New Blooms, available as a free
download on their facebook page.
Over the last few years the trend of releasing episodic
sneak-peeks into studio production has filled news feeds
with generally droll videos of the monotony of guitar
overdubs. the odd fart joke, and the sleep deprived
insanity often found in the recording studio. If you’re
interested to see how Finnish folk-metallers Ensiferum
are updating their sound after the disappointing 2009
release From Afar, you can travel through the looking
glass and into the studio with the quintet, just hit up the
band’s social media.
On a personal note, this is my final column for the
foreseeable future. The call of metal is strong, never
ignore it, but I’m stepping down and entering the dark
and terrifying world of public education to smash
sense, and a love of thrash metal, into the malleable
brains of our wayward youth.

NEW NOIZE

The February edition of Noizemaschin at The Artifactory in
Osborne Park offers up plenty of sustenance for the noise
junky and casual surveyor of experimentalism alike. For $10
from 7.30pm Tuesday 28 February, catch New Zealand’s
Stanier-Black Five, Cat Hope, Kynan Tan, Malcolm Riddoch,
Leafy Suburbs, Christopher de Groot, Sam Gillies and Dr
Vellocet.

BYE BUREACRAT

The show must go on for The Bureacrats, who bid farewell
to Gareth at The Ellington Jazz Club last weekend as he
heads off to Europe with high hopes, some savings and his
trusty bass. After a cracking send-off, the group are straight
back on the horse Friday 24 February with an intimate show
at the X-Wray Café, supporting The Banana Theory.

MORE LOVE
UKELELE FIEND AND OKA BAND MEMBER BOBBY ALU IS BRINGING HIS SOLO STYLES
TO WA THIS WEEKEND. AND HE CHATS TO TROY MUTTON ABOUT ALL THINGS ROOTS,
REGGAE, AND JUST GENERALLY HAVING A DAMN GOOD TIME DOING THEM.

RAINY DAY
WOMEN

CISCO CITY

Proudly presented by Street Press Australia, San
Cisco’s tour celebrating their Awkward EP has
been going gangbusters thanks partyly to massive
single Awkward smashing No.7 in the Hottest 100.
They play Fremantle Arts Centre Friday 24 February
and Sunday 26, the latter show ALL-AGES with
Sugarpuss supprting.

THE LETTER F

Fat Shan’s feted Friday I’m In Love series returns Friday 24
February for more fun and fantasticalness. They’re excited
to celebrate the end of single digit editions with lo-fi tunes
from the mystical Rabbit Island, smooth topical hip hop
from Mathas and the acoustic stylings of Lee Schneider.
Tickets $10 from tickets@fatshanrecords.com.

FORMIDALE FORCE

Welcome to your newest party dance band, Ensemble
Formidable – only described as some sort of bizarre
chicken-powered, dancefloor doof device. The ten-piece
barely squeeze on stage horns, strings, accordion, synth,
electric junk percussion and harmonies, but they’ll try Friday
24 February at Clancy’s Fremantle with The Joe Black trio.

ROCK CIRCUS

Friday 24 February roll up for a Rock’N’Roll
Spectacular at Mojo’s, featuring The Floors,
introducing you to new single You Got To Move ahead
of an album release later this year. Special guest
Matty Blade – famous for his sword swallowing
and knife throwing – brings his act, along with High
Horse and The Belle Ends supporting. $15 from 8pm.

BLOWING FUSES
ADELAIDE MUSIC CONFERENCE FUSE
FESTIVAL KICKED OFF YESTERDAY, AND
DRUM GIVES YOU A LITTLE INSIGHT
INTO WHAT’S ACTUALLY GOING ON.
HINT: IT’S GREAT AND MAKES US
MISS ONE MOVEMENT EVEN MORE.

In a nutshell, the festival consists of conferences featuring
keynote speakers during the day time, with live music
on each night hosting over 80 national acts over 30
venues until Friday 24 February – with expected crowds
of around 5,000 over the few days. Major speakers
over the course of Fuse include Brett Cottle (CEO of
APRA/AMCOS); author, entrepreneur and agent of
change Seth Godin; and Andy Kelly and Andy Cassell
(Winterman & Goldstein/Ivy League Records). There
are also international guests Alicen Schneider (Head
Of Music, NBC/Universal); Corey Denis (Toolshed);
Chris Wareing (Mean Fiddler/Great Escape); and Franz
Schuller (Indica Records). To put simply, big deals. And
that’s not even going into the dozens of other speakers
from management and promotions companies such as
Umbrella, Select Touring, Warner, Alberts and a heap
more.
The night-time showcases are free to the public, and
divided up into East and West according to the location
they’re playing in the city. Playing the former are acts
including Howl At The Moon; Sietta; Epidemic; Red
Ink; Catherine Traicos and Kristina Miltiadou, while
in the west Winter People; The Guppies; The Shiny
Brights; Move To Strike; and our own Patient Little
Sister and Rainy Day Women. And while we touch on
WA’s presence at Fuse, these two will also be joined by
fellow movers and shakers The Brow Horn Orchestra,
Law Of Attraction and Shameem, with a host of other
acts playing other stages over the two days. The final
nights sees APRA hosting a special Fuse @ Fringe event,
combining forces with Adelaide’s own Fringe Festival
Friday 24 February, and hosting Mission In Motion;
Glass Towers; Sincerely Grizzly; Es Ist Super; The
Shaolin Afronauts; Marcus Corowa; Goldbloom; and
Them Swoops (triple j Unearthed Band).
As mentioned above all the shows are free, except for the
final Fringe show, which is a measly five bucks! Again
just making us here at Drum Perth incredibly jealous,
and not without a small tear in the eye. We’ll be giving
the festival a bit of a wrap next week to highlight how
awesome music conferences are, and how Perth needs
theres back.
Head to fusefestival.com for more info

Coming from a band background with OKA and
others, what prompted you to break out on your
own? It was totally daunting and totally fresh doing
the solo thing. I had written and recorded my songs
for a university assessment, and was later urged by
friends to start a band. It all happened pretty quickly
and all of a sudden I was the front man of a band. It
was so nerve-racking and foreign to be at the front, I’d
never been that nervous at a gig before – but I found
that I liked the nerves and the freshness. Gigging
became new again, it brought a different form of
excitement.
And you’re touring new single Love You More. Tell
us a bit about the track and your future direction?
The track was the first I’ve written with my band. I
wrote the song whilst on holiday in Bali inspired by
love for relationships, friendships and courtships.
I came home showed the band and we wrote the
music together. For the first album I wrote all the
parts that the band replicated, so it was exciting for

CUSTOM MUSTANG

The Mustang Bar’s original music night continues Thursday
23 February from 9.30pm and this week they welcome
Custom Royal – a wall of catchy rock, complete with
windmill arms, rock start stances and catchy harmony-rich
choruses. Supported by The Cabarets and Paperfish, plus DJ
James Mac on the wheels of steel, all free.

and Befallen smashing it out live on stage from
9pm. The night also doubles as a listening party
for recent visitors Psycropitc’s album The Inherited
Repression, with copies of the CD up for grabs.

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR…

This Thursday 23 February Big Dragon Little Dragon
play a little gig in the Fremantle Music Shop on South
Tce. It’s a free after work affair starting around 6pm, BYO
refreshments for a cool little music store vibe. BDLD is a
father-son duo that have been busy tracking some debut
original tracks, and they want to test ‘em out.

5.30-9PM, ENTRY $5

BANANA THEORY

music

WHAT: Love You More (Independent)

SUPPORTED BY

DETH TRAKTOR
@ SWAN BASEMENT

us to write some music together finally. The
future direction is definitely more of this. I’m so
stoked to have my good friends in the band – the
bonus is they are exceptionally accomplished,
experienced and tasteful musicians. We love
writing and playing music together.
The Ukulele is a bit of a trademark for you,
what drew you to the instrument? I don’t know
life without it. My mum used to play it to me as a
baby. It’s quite a popular instrument where she’s
from in Samoa. I was playing before I reached
10 and would often just pick it up for fun right
through high school. Just as I was finishing
school I started writing my own songs on it. I
always have one in the tour van. It’s the perfect
travel instrument.
You’ve collaborated with a heap of acts,
it’s obviously something you enjoy? At the
moment I’m having so much fun with my band
OKA. Touring with the other two guys is always
hilarious and we manage to find ourselves in
the most ridiculous situations. My friends from
Tijuana Cartel are always so much fun, ending
in hangovers but also smiles. Nicky Bomba has
been a great friend; I always love gigging for him.
Currently I’m gearing up for a performance at
the prestigious Byron Bluesfest with afro-reggae
band Kooii and another North American tour with
OKA. Hooray.
What can we expect from your upcoming tour
to the west? Get ready for some island style.
My music is heavily influenced by my Polynesian
roots and I’ll be bringing some new log drums I
acquired on my last trip to Samoa. Aussie roots
reggae is a definite influence of mine, but I’d like
to think we do it differently. We just like to have
fun. It’s something I’ve noticed playing in the
west. The peeps in WA really know how to get
down and have a rad time.

IContact:
NTERESTED
IN PLAYING?
luke@sweetmate.com.au

SNAPBACK

SLAM DUNK
TODAY IS NATIONAL SAVE LIVE AUSTRALIAN MUSIC DAY AND DRUM GETS A BIT OF
BACKGROUND FROM SLAM ORGANISER HELEN MARCOU, BEFORE DETAILING WHERE YOU
COULD AND SHOULD BE HEADED TONIGHT TO SUPPORT ALL THINGS LIVE AND LOCAL.
ALI TOWERS

On 23 February 2010 the Victorian public marched to the
steps of Parliament House in a 20,000-strong show of
support for a live music community under threat. It was
the largest cultural protest in the nation’s history, and the
message was clear: we do not accept that live music is
in any way associated with violence and we expect live
venues to be treated as the cultural hubs that they are,
not lumped in with seedy beer halls and gambling dens
by association through alcohol alone. And, it seemed,
the government listened. An accord was drawn up
recognising the non-association between live music and
violence and, accordingly, an exemption process was
established whereby venues could apply to have their
‘high risk’ status lifted, thus relieving the financial burdens
associated with security and insurance costs.
Two years on and the SLAM (Save Live Australian Music)
organisation responsible for the Victorian march are taking
the initiative to every state and territory in the country by
way of a national SLAM Day celebration, where venues

and artists are encouraged to register gigs in a show
of solidarity for a cause that touches each of us in
and of the music community. “Part of the reason we
have gone national is that after the SLAM rally we’ve
constantly received letters and emails from all around
the country and other cities around the world asking
for help with their own campaigns,” says SLAM
organiser Helen Marcou. “There’s similar problems of
gentrification, land values rising, artists being forced
into the peripheries of society, and the same themes
of no protection for these cultural clusters.”
In the same way politicians took note only when
confronted with 20,000 angry voters, the concept
behind SLAM Day is to mobilise the gig-going public
en masse in a celebration of all things live music.
“As a continuum of the SLAM rally we’ve seen that
governments respond very strongly to numbers,
they’re incredibly poll driven,” Marcou says. The
SLAM organisers are also looking at the day as
an opportunity for the public to voice concerns
surrounding the health of live music. “It’s a great
opportunity for people up there to come together and
voice their concerns to their state government and
their local councils,” Marcou continues. “Ultimately
it is a great celebration of our great small venues and
our musicians but we also have to raise awareness
as to what it needs to continue.”
If nothing more, SLAM Day is a good chance to
reflect on what live music means to you. Whether
you make it down your favourite venue, write a
letter or call up your Minister, pass the info on to
a friend or buy a bit of locally produced music, it’s

about engaging with your surroundings and being part of a
community. Even a stroll around your neighbourhood will
reinforce what you or potentially stand to lose, or perhaps
have already lost. “They’re a soft target, live music
venues,” concludes Marcou. “It’s much cheaper to just
put on a big telly screen or run poker machines or sexually
explicit [entertainment] or just straight drinking than to
run live music. People tend to drink less in these venues,
they have a cultural focus and it’s a little community that
teeters on the edge. We can’t see our culture planned out
of existence.”
SLAM TIME
And without further adieu here are some of the SLAMendorsed shows on tonight, Thursday 23 February. If they
don’t tickle ya fancy, head out somewhere else involving
live music! And most importantly, don’t make this the
one special day of the year you decide to get away from
Facebook/Home & Away, go out and see some quality live
Australian music regularly, ‘cause lord knows Perth’s got
a tonne of it:
Solo blues-man Matt Gresham has earned no
shortage of praise recently with his powerful acoustic
songwriting, most notably having received the personal
commendations of Australia’s blues/roots/folk master,
John Butler. Mojo’s will play host to his captivating
performance with Tonchi & The Lonely Horse Band also
in attendance, rounding out the night’s entertainment with
a set of country-tinged tunes and outback balladry. $20
tickets are available at the door from 8pm onwards.
Singer/songwriter Ali Towers’ solo folk and blues
tunes will be supported by local power-pop quartet
The Stanleys, who are back on home turf after a
successful world tour in 2011, and the newly solo multiinstrumentalist Julius Lutero. $5 entry at The Paddo,
Inglewood.
The formerly Freo-based blues artist Loren will be
returning to his hometown with a SLAM show at Clancy’s
Fish Pub, Fremantle, at 8pm. Part of his first solo WA tour
since the release of his debut last year, Loren will be sure
to captivate the audience alongside rising local folk-rocker

themusic.com.au

Jordan McRobbie and the jazzy, chamber-folk sounds of
The Lonely Brothers. Starting at 8pm, $15 at the door.
The Brow Horn Orchestra will be playing at Murdoch
University as a part of orientation day festivities in more
SLAM goodness. The high-octane, genre bending WAMi
award winners will be taking to the stage in the Murdoch
tavern, with support from three-piece Parker Avenue,
whose repertoire encompasses everything from Stevie
Wonder to Fallout Boy, so there’s bound to be something
for everyone – even if you’re not an excitable first year
student.
To atone for those Stonefield fans devastated by their
absence at the Perth Big Day Out, the lovely lasses will
make their own way here unassisted by the festival
juggernaut, hitting the Rosemount Hotel. After a bunch of
high profile shows that included a slot at Glastonbury in
the UK, these young ladies have proven undeniably that
they’re destined for big things both at home and abroad.
They’re support from psychedelic locals Sonpsilo Circus
and Sugarpuss, tickets can be sourced through Moshtix,
Oztix and Heatseeker for $18.40.
For more info, head to slamrally.org.
MATT GRESHAM

SUGARPUSS

THE DRUM MEDIA • 29

23 FEBRUARY

2012

FLOORED
BALAM ACAB
THE BAKERY
17/02/12
Supporting swiftly rising, electronic
prodigy Balam Acab, Zowaski
enticed with a set of fidgety, left of
centre beats that featured imploding
kick drums and sounds that collapsed
in on themselves. Andrew Sinclair’s
as yet unnamed three piece band
then enthralled, as a coquettish pixie
in a shiny white jacket cooed over
genetically mutated R’n’B, layered
with broken rhythms and phased
keys that passed through the room
like street walking ghosts. Discrete
yet assured, the trio exhibited a solid
understanding of sonic architecture,
balance and composition; capping
an accomplished bow with an
unexpectedly optimistic groove that
conjured ripples of bopping amongst
the early arrivals. Diger Rokwell’s set
was sandwiched with two cameos
by Clunk, whose mixing didn’t
always employ intricate finesse, but
consistently demonstrated a good
ear for understated post-dubstep
wobble, before the aforementioned
beatsman Diger Rokwell then
flaunted his versatility; peeling off
some Eastern-sounding scales on
his electric guitar over material from
his righteously funky Sri Diger EP.
His enthusiasm certainly affected
the crowd, with displays of some
extreme head-nodding that bottomed
out somewhere near his waistline.
As the toast of Perth’s beat-making
scene, now is the time for the big
push toward national recognition.
Fresh-faced with outwardly
exploding hair and thick rimmed
glasses, Alec “Balam Acab” Koone
looked something like the grandson
of a mad professor as he took to
the stage with vocalist Morgan
Elizabeth. Koone’s productions
shimmer with a glacial beauty
that deserves a showcase of the
highest quality. Aside from some
awkward singing, Koone’s live input
seemed minimal, as tracks from his
iPod Touch were routed through a
mixing desk, although occasional
tweaks and caresses did contribute
to the extraordinary atmosphere.
Disappointingly the spellbinding
vocal processing on tracks such as
Oh Why was not replicated onstage,
but as a young artist rapidly thrust
into prominence, his embryonic live
show should be given time to find
its full potential. Declan completed
the night with some well-chosen
futuristic funk; ending an epic feast
where the entrees probably edged
out the main course.
CHRISTOPHER H JAMES

THE ORB & BOMB
THE BASS
THE TREASURE CHEST, PERTH
17/02/12
This writer must confess to major
fanboy excitement for this packed
double-bill and one of the brilliant
Fringe World Festival’s final shows.
Synonymous with smiley badges
and the early days of acid-house, Tim
Simenon’s Bomb The Bass made
their mark with big productions for
Neneh Cherry and Depeche Mode.
After a lengthy hiatus, Simenon
returned in 2008 and has been back
to making progressive electronica
with new bandmate/vocalist Paul
Conboy. The reenergizing has served
Simenon well with this Fringe
appearance being used to road-test
six new songs (from an imminent
as yet-untitled new album, mostly
armed with Conboy’s growly vocals)
and showcase highlights from his
post-’08 reinvigoration. Finishing
with heavily updated reworkings
of Beat Dis, Megablast and Bug
30 • THE DRUM MEDIA

TOP OF THE RAGGA RANKS

PAUL MASTER

Powder Dust that heightened
the crowd’s euphoria, this was a
triumphant and welcomed return.
Anyone with memories of The
Orb’s ambient heyday in the early
‘90s must fondly recall much time
spent in hazed beanbags, as it was
with this writer who wasted many
late nights in gouched-out bliss
listening to Adventures Beyond The
Ultraworld. A 12.30am start seemed
just dandy for Dr. Alex Paterson and
Tom Fehlmann (looking like Wurzel
Gummage’s stoned dad) to ease us
into Spanish Castles In Space. One
might have expected the next 90
minutes to be loaded with stoned
dubbiness but The Orb delivered
a friskily-mixed set of electronic
sweet treats from all nooks of
their vast catalogue. Paterson and
Fehlmann’s symbiotic DJing style
made for occasional playful tweaks
and diversions with a sense that
this really was a ‘make it up as we
go along’ bit of fun. Be it mixing The
Blue Room with audio from 2001: A
Space Odyssey to create a sense of
paranoia, to accentuating the lunatic
gobbledigook in Perpetual Dawn,
to projections of sinister ‘50s toy
commercials, by 2am there were a
lot of us left with a major case of the
munchies. More, please!
MAC MCNAUGHTON

CUT & PASTE DVD
COLLABORATIONS
THE BAKERY, NORTHRBRIDGE
18/02/12
As one of the final shows for this
year’s killer Fringe World, Cut &
Paste collaborations would be the
first live installment of a music and
visual project, with collaborations
between some of WA’s most
forward-thinking artists. Those who
arrived early were treated to local
remixes by King Jon Ill followed by
Sibalance with Andrew Weir and
Orbonic Plague. Dim colorful lights
with the red old-fashioned lampshade
hanging directly above the stage
set the mood, and the deep sexy
bass beats pumping right through
your heart were quick to roll in. The
Weapon Is Sound featuring Hayley
Beth and Brendan Jay followed,
introducing to the scene a mix of
psychedelic dubstep infused with
groove and reggae. The atmosphere
presented a smooth change and was
jazzed up with sax, funky drumbeats
and each member flaunting great
amounts of energy for an impressive
set. Although Beth’s voice seemed
to get lost in the first half, the vocals
still complimented each other well.
The band ended their set with
Isolation Dub, and then a song by
Beth that “will make you flip!” The
ambiance mellowed out with Felicity
Groom & Diger Rokwell bringing
to the stage haunting vocals and
guitar which seemed to hold the
once-dancing crowd into an almost
trance-like stand. The second track,
only finished that afternoon, was
performed for the first time and
throughout the remainder of the
set shifted the vibe to a funkier
style. Rachael Dease & YLEM
continued with the mellow feel.
Whilst Dease’s voice at times came
across as overly orchestrated, there
was something quite mesmerising
about the Schvendes frontwoman
in this form. However, though the
talent was still evidently there, the
energy seemed to have slowed
down a bit too much. NAIK with Pat
from Sugar Army gave the evening
another boost of liveliness as the
four-piece rocked out with a tasteful
mix of drums, guitar and tambourine,
an impressive debut that’s sure to
give Future Music Festival punters
a surprise or two. The night finished
up with The Empty Cup featuring

a range of local talent including
Luke Dux, Timothy Nelson,
ASAP and host of the evening
Mathas. Improvised hip hop/rap
with a variation of instruments,
the lyrics were sourced from
the crowd - innovative being an
understatement, with the flow
battle giving an exciting twist of
new interpretations. Bringing out
music and talent from all genres,
this was definitely a mind-blowing
night.

GAPPY RANKS

JAYDE FERGUSON

SETS ON THE BEACH
VOL. 6
SCARBOROUGH BEACH
AMPHITHEATRE
19/02/12
Temperatures soared into the
mid-30s with sunstroke a surefire possibility last Sunday.
AB+ kicked off the afternoon’s
festivities around 1.30pm, but
for only 15 minutes, which felt
slightly pointless. Punters could
have held out until 1.45 for
Greg Packer, a vinyl and d’n’b
connoisseur who’s produced
beats dipping into funk, soul and
ragga. Throwing in some of his
own tunes dripping with chilled
drum‘n’bass and dub electronic
made for perfect beachside
party chic. Nina Las Vegas
busted some more recognisable
tunes as she sampled her savvy
knowledge of popular indie,
hip hop, dance and everything
she wanted from Kanye to Cut
Copy – basically her triple j
House Party in a live context.
Electro-funk, disco ‘70s and retro
‘80s DJ Greg Wilson had you
thinking about Prince jumping
around in barely-there underwear.
Disappointment ensued from
first listen with the Ting Tings
and the over-played Pink Floyd
Another Brick In The Wall remix,
but the mash-up that evolved
was the best heard in a long time.
Prince’s I Wanna Be Your Lover,
The Clash’s Rock The Casbah and
Fleetwood Mac’s Everywhere
made star appearances, giving
the clientele a more, dare I say,
cultured appeal. The sun slowly
set as Soul II Soul circa 1989 hit
the stage taking everyone back
to Club Classics with Get A Life
and Keep On Movin’. Jazzie B
was legendary on the decks and
ended the set in his style mixing
James Brown, Public Enemy
and David Bowie’s Let’s Dance.
This added fresh flavour but you
couldn’t help but wonder whether
these mixes were played because
they had already exhausted the
hit list. They were the best thing
all day and peaced out with the
trademark: “Remember, a happy
face, a thumpin’ bass, for a lovin’
race.” Flight Facilities then kicked
off after a short interval and
played hits Crave You and Foreign
Language – the latter of which
had vocalist Jess singing live,
both making jiggling junk in the
trunk mandatory. Their remixes
of Holy Ghost! and Cut Copy saw
everyone silly, especially those
stomping cheek-chewers who
tried hard to keep moves ‘groovy’.
The Glimmers concluded with
their disco-house, club and
electro keeping most occupied,
although some headed for the
gates, thankful that the night sky
could hide their inebriated state
and manic sunburn. At the end
of the day, you’d want to have
aloe at home because the heat
from Soul II Soul be leavin’ ya’ll
blisterin’.
KATIE ROLSTON

DANCEHALL
SUPERSTAR GAPPY
RANKS IS BACK
THIS WEEKEND,
ROCKING MOJO’S
AFTER A KILLER
SHOW THERE
LAST YEAR. TROY
MUTTON GETS
SOME BASS-IC
RAGGA TRUTHS
FROM THE MAN
HIMSELF.

What’s been going since we
last saw you in Perth in 2011?
Since I came to Perth I went
to the USA for 18 shows with
Collie Buddz and have done a lot
of shows in Europe and UK, and I
was lucky to perform and spend
Christmas in Grenada.
Last year was your first trip
this way, how’d you find
the experience? It was great
‘cause it’s always great to
discover new countries, meet
new people, sing my songs
and put a smile on peoples’
faces. I am looking forward to
returning but I have to give the
glory to all the people that make
it possible for me to tour – the

promoter, the DJ, the sound
man, the radio that supports
Gappy Ranks music and keeps
reggae relevant in their cities
for artists like myself to be able
to come to perform in those
places.
Have you been working
on any new material since
Thanks & Praise? Thanks &
Praise is still getting a lot of
love and I love to perform those
songs on stage. This week I
will release my second digital
EP called Cookies – six tracks
produced by various producers,
all songs about the natural herb
– we say no to drugs, but yes
to plants. Cookies is a grade

THE OLD SCHOOL
UK DANCE MUSIC
CHAMP LEE
BURRIDGE KNOWS
A THING ABOUT
DJING AFTER
TWO DECADES IN
THE GAME, AND
HE GIVES TROY
MUTTON A LESSON
OR TWO.
You’ve been on the EDM scene
for over 20 years now, do you still
get as excited about it as you did
back then? Of course. I still hear
tracks when I’m in the record shop
or shopping online that make the
hairs on my arm stand up. It’s the
same excitement for music that I’ve
always felt. I have always said that
the day (or should it be night?) that
this becomes a job for me, rather
than a passion, I’ll stop. I wish
some of the other dinosaurs of this
scene would abide to this way of
thinking too, as there are quite a few
that seem to me to have lost their
sparkle and the passion. It reflects in
how tired, lazy and uninspired their
sets are these days. I’ve always
tried to constantly evolve with
music while still retaining a familiar
thread to my sound.
You’re renowned for some
lengthier sets, what is it about
the challenge of controlling a
dancefloor for extended periods
of time that gets you going? I’ve
always thought about my sets
as a story or a roller coaster ride.
Some sort of tale that can be told
with the feeling music creates.
I’ve noticed many, many DJs just
bang it out these days. The musical
experience is no longer about
music. It’s just about energy. This
bores me senseless. Anyone can

themusic.com.au

LEE BURRIDGE

go on Beatport and buy the latest
20 tracks out of the top 100 that
are drums and bassline loops. You
can neatly join them together using
the auto synch on Traktor. Where’s
the fun and challenge in that? I
guess it’s scary to some people
trusting in your own taste. It’s
harder to make it and have people
understand you but ultimately it’s
much more rewarding. I’ve always
been somewhat of a black sheep in
whatever genre people have placed
me in, but that’s okay.
Is a lot of it trying to give as
much back to dance music as you
can with the various nights and
projects you help run/organize?
Unless you’ve not noticed DJs
are constantly dressing up the
same whore in different clothes.
Ultimately we stand in a room and
play records. We all come up with
these crazy concepts and names
for what we are doing but it’s just
touring and re-branding the tour
again and again. Organizing events
does allow me to support DJs and
producers I’m in to, which I like.
What started your love of touring,
will it ever slow down? You call it
touring. I call it being on the run. Too
many parking tickets…
It seems like EDM is becoming
more mainstream than ever, how
do you think it reflects on the
already established scene? It’s
always been this way. It was like
it in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s.

The charts were full of dance
music. It’s okay though. It allows
new people to discover the 4/4
‘sound’. Hopefully some of them
progress after a while, as chart
music is very disposable pop. I
like to keep an open mind and
not fall in to that state of mind
where you somehow feel superior
as your taste is broader or more
developed. I’ve been shouted
at online and told I’m boring
or shit, and you know what, in
that person’s world and with
the experience they have had
so far, I probably am. You can’t
please all of the people all of the
time. I’m not sure who was the
world’s number one DJ in that
laughable chart that DJ Mag put
out every year but I’d hazard a
guess at David Guetta. To me he’s
the epitome of commercialism.
A massive PR machine and an
industry. It’s not my taste at all.
To be honest from my position in
the dance music scene he’s the
lowest common denominator, but
that’s just my taste. I know many
people go along to the night and
have a great time. And surely
that’s all that matters. We all go
out to escape and have fun. If you
actually like that music then good
for you. Just try to keep an open
mind as there’s so much amazing
music out there.
WHEN & WHERE: Friday 24
February, The Likes Of You, Shape,
East Perth

popular in San Francisco, it’s
two kush mixed together.
Any collaborations you’ve
got coming up you can tell
us about? Yes, I’ve done a
track with an African artist
from Zimbabwe called Winky
D produced by Special Delivery
and a few other collaborations
coming soon with J Boog.
What kind of message are
you trying to spread with your
music? Reggae is a rebel music
and the music of the people. We
sing about world issues and try
to uplift the people and put a
smile on their face. We’re also
young and love to party so keep
that energy for the clubs too,
but anything we do we give Jah
the glory.
While there’s obviously a
strong reggae/dancehall
presence around the world,
how does it differ from country
to country? It don’t differ much,
I must have the best fans ‘cause
everywhere we go the people
are nice to me – there are
different vibes and atmosphere
in the same city sometimes
so it’s hard to compare any
countries. In my country,
dancehall is more hyped than
ever, and I am very happy with
what’s going on at home.
What’s your view on reggae
infiltrating some other genres
of dance music? Of course
reggae influenced most of the
music we are hearing on the
urban radio; either hip hop or
R’n’B or grime or dubstep…
Reggae brings bass to this world
– it changed the game.
What can we expect from your
2012 shows? How will the
Gappy Ranks live experience
go down? You know I love to
interact with the people, so a lot
of interaction, a lot of energy and
many new songs ‘cause I’ll be
performing songs from my new
EP, plus some new singles and
tracks from my two albums and
first EP. Big up all the massive
from Australia, NZ and South
Pacific Islands, looking forward
to see y’all again!
WHEN & WHERE: Saturday
25 February, Mojo’s, North
Fremantle

TRASH TALK

SINGLE STORY

WHITNEY HOUSTON

MARISA AVELING
TRAWLS THROUGH
ALL THE TRASHY
MUSIC GOSSIP
SO YOU DON’T
HAVE TO.
The Grammys almost always
provide great fodder for before,
during and after-the-fact facepalms and semi-related social
commentary. The 2012 awards
– apparently the most-watched
installment since 1984 – were
reliably packed with enough
moments (The shock! The horror!
The hilarity! But mainly the cringe!)
to fill this entire column, which is
what brought us to the creation of a
dedicated Grammy edition of Trash
Talk. (Note: all artists mentioned are
Grammy-related, but all nuggets of
gossip are not.)
Since the advent of Twitter has
made it easier to gauge the mood/
intelligence of the population
at large, we could interpret
the reaction of some to Paul
McCartney’s performance (our
favorite being @thisisrory: “Who
is this Paul McCartney guy? Bring
out @LilBTheBasedGod”) as
the demise of, well, something.

Probably slightly more forgivable
is the Tweetosphere’s response to
Bon Iver winning Best New Artist,
which was, “Who is Bonnie Bear?”
(Fun fact: Bonnie Bear is actually
the cutesy pinafore-wearing star of
a series created by “the first site for
little ones”, BabyFirst TV.)
While McCartney and “Bonnie”
were invariably mystifying the
public, Adele was wiping everybody
else out with her six-Grammy win.
Seeing as though she outsold every
other artist by a few million in 2011,
one can assume that everybody
knows who she is, despite her lack
of a last name. People outside of
her immediate domain of music
have been discussing the merits
of the now-23-year-old, including
fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, who
recently gave her a backhanded
compliment by way of, “The thing
at the moment is Adele. She is a
little too fat, but she has a beautiful
face and a divine voice.” Which is a
bit rich, seeing as though Lagerfeld
himself was about 30 kilos heavier
some ten years ago. She’s said
she’ll be giving her pipes a rest for
five years now, so plenty of
time for revenge…
Also forever stirring controversy
is Chris Brown, who had three
moments of Grammy glory: as
the opener to the dance tribute to

COWBOYS AND INDIANS @ AMMPLIFIER

the late Soul Train creator Don
Cornelius, winner of the Best
R’n’B Album category, and to
show everyone he can actually
‘sing’ by way of performing the
single off his forthcoming LP. The
thing that has had the Internet
wringing its hands, though, is
that the Grammys actually mark
the third-year anniversary of
his very-public beating of thengirlfriend Rihanna. Everyone
deserves a second chance, that’s
true, but was it necessary to give
him so much airtime – two thirds
of which were actually scheduled
by the Grammys themselves?
Maybe they intended on
reminding us three times that
domestic violence should not
be trivialized. Or perhaps it
was to help prep everyone for
his apparent guesting on an
upcoming track with, wait for it,
Ri Ri [*shakes head*].
Further sad news surrounding
this year’s Grammys was the
death of remarkable R’n’B
presence, Whitney Houston.
The 48-year-old was found
partially submerged in the
bathtub of her room at the
Beverly Hills Hilton, where she
was scheduled to perform at the
pre-Grammy party of the man
who discovered her, Clive Davis.
(Weird aside: photos released
by TMZ show a gravy boat to be
at the bottom of the tub.) While
cause of death at time of writing
is unknown, TMZ also reports
that it is looking increasingly
likely that Houston may have
fallen asleep/unconscious
and drowned. The element of
heartbreak is only increased with
word that Houston’s only child,
Bobbi Kristina, has been placed
on suicide watch, after being
admitted to hospital twice after
her mother’s death. Tributes
from fans, peers and friends have
come rushing through for the
singer best known for singles
such as I Will Always Love
You and The Greatest Love Of
All. “Whitney Houston had the
greatest voice in the world. We
truly lost an angel,” Diddy said.
For once, the man is right.

SAM PERRY

SAM PERRY
RELEASING HIS
LATEST SINGLE
THE WORLD
WON’T WAIT THIS
WEEKEND, SAM
PERRY GIVES US
THE STORY BEHIND
THE TRACK.
The World Won’t Wait is the
A-side of a three-track single with
computer game-based artwork,
recorded in my bedroom on faulty

computer software. It consists of
two very depressing topics and a
remix from my first release. The
World Won’t Wait is based on a
movement called The Invisible
Children, a horrible story where kids
are stolen from their families by a
rebel army around Africa and trained
to fight with their first steps. It’s
a movement about creating global
awareness on this issue that my
brother Wil Perry and I have been
involved in from and early age; Wil
features on the track. Like all of my
music, it’s a complete vocal project.
using only an sm58 microphone
and a load of finely-tuned effects. I
recorded/wrote it last week in two
28-hour sittings. I do this with all my
songs. I see it as the best way to
capture how I’m feeling at the time,
plus you never know what it’s going
to sound like. It keeps it interesting.
After the launch I’ll be releasing the
album Urban Decay within the next
two months hopefully, ready for my
first national tour in April with UK
plans later in the year.
WHAT: The World Won’t Wait (Fat
Shan Music)
WHEN & WHERE: Saturday 25
February, Fat Shan Records, Perth

HOT LOCAL GIG SPOTLIGHT
THE FUTURE OF
FUTURE
Who’s playing your event and who
should punters be most excited
about seeing? A diverse, handpicked
selection of Perth’s up-and-coming
DJs. From over 100 entrants we
narrowed it down to just eight: Boris,
DJ Genga, Lazy Daze, Oliver Fenner,
Sam Spencer, The Protagonist, Uncle
Chang and Wasteland.
What gave you the idea for this
show? We wanted to find talent that
wasn’t necessarily around the Perth
scene at the moment, the concept
was born and the reaction has been
really amazing!
What does your gig offer that

others don’t? New talent, 15-minute
mix-for-your-life-offs, a shitload of
Future Music 2012 tickets to be
given away, free entry into Capitol
for the comp and onwards to Death
Disco, and one very excited brand
new Future Music Festival 2012
artist.
What made you pick this venue?
Capitol’s sound system and lighting
made it a perfect arena for the new
kids to really get excited about, plus
Death Disco DJs playing straight
after we announce the winner!
What’s next for your band/promo
company? Electonic are hosting Hot
Cross Buns at Capitol and Amplifier,
Easter Thursday.
WHEN & WHERE: Saturday 25
February, Capitol, Perth

BLOCK NESS MONSTERS FRAT
HOUSE @ METRO FREO
The Death Disco DJs expand their
good times empire. Round one
features special guests Bloc Ness
Monsters: two dudes from a certain
scientific Aussie electro trio.
DESIGNER DRUGS

ERYKAH BADU
@ BELVOIR AMPHITHEATRE

Force Majeure is back and they’ve
invited electro-industrial punks
Designer Drugs, with support from
D-Funk, Philly Blunt, Jus Haus? and
The Tapeheads, $25 plus BF via
Moshtix and Boomtick.
HEDFLUX

Rimshot: A Celebration Of Neo Soul
with DJs Charlie Bucket, Zeus Roc
and Dannoyboi, plus a special live
performance by Deuces.
Free entry for this house party not
at a house, with The Move family –
Royce, Bilsby and Ben Taaffe from
8pm.
Jamie Mac and Shannon Fox spin
indie/alt classics from midnight at
Amps, while Caps serves up a Retro
Mash from 10pm.

Proudly presented by Drum Media, we’re already calling this one of the best
gigs ever to be held at Belvoir Amphitheatre. Originally ‘only’ announced as
neo-soulstress Erykah Badu and New Zealand party starters Fat Freddy’s
Drop, the later addition of soul superstar Mayer Hawthorne turned it into
the triple threat of 2012. The ‘Queen Of Neo-Soul’, as Badu has become
known over the years, blew us away at Good Vibes a couple of years back,
and this is her first ever headline tour around the country. Drum Media in
Sydney said of her Opera House show last weekend, “It was a performance
to be remembered – the lady is a modern soul genius.” Don’t miss it, tickets
through Ticketmaster.

AMPLIFIER/CAPITOL

DESIGNER DRUGS @ AMBAR

Bezwun, Ben Mac, Oli, Micah and
Diistortiion bring the tunes, $12 til
midnight, $15 after.
X-Hate and Mith kicking you in the
crotch with all the best in trad, goth,
alt-‘80s, and more from 10pm.

OUTLOOK LAUNCH @ SHAPE
Loving the look of Croatia’s Outlook
Festival but have no means of
getting there? Well you can get a
taste Friday 2 March with Kryptic
Minds, Spectrasoul, Icicle and
Ulterior Motive from the UK, plus
Zanetic. $35 plus BF via Moshtix,
Planet and Mills, 10pm ‘til late.

ARAABMUZIK @ THE BAKERY
If you were to Google the name
AraabMUZIK (and we suggest you
do), you would discover a lot of
videos showing this music producer
hammering on an MPC with more
precision than Travis Barker on the
drums. He plays The Bakery for
Bassnotion, supported by Kit Pop
and Zeke. $20 via Now Baking.

BONOBO @ CAPITOL
It’s been 12 years since Bonobo’s
debut Animal Magic pulled
heartstrings across the globe,
and since then Simon Green has
developed his emotive brand of
electronica in to one of the world’s
most captivating live electronic
bands. Now, for the very first time,
he’s bringing the whole six-piece
experience including vocalist
Andreya Triana, celebrating the
release of Black Sands Remixed.
Friday 9 March at Capitol sees him
complete with his live band. Tickets
via Moshtix.

JAMES LAVELLE @ AMBAR
Described once as the Hunter S.
Thompson of DJs, James Lavelle’s
career has spanned 18 years, and
at 32 he remains as individual a
figure in contemporary music as he
was as a teenager, when he first
gatecrashed his way in with the
genre-shattering MoWax records,
and now with UNKLE. Friday 9
March, tickets via Moshtix.

All tickets include:
Free mask on arrival
Canapés all night
2 DJs playing upstairs and downstairs
Jugglers and Fire Breather Entertainers all night
For further information visit
www.kmdj.com.au/mask2012

T

EN

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ustralian Musician magazine, Australia’s
longest running publication for musicians
of all levels goes monthly! The colour
quarterly you’ve found in instrument stores since
1994, will still be distributed in March, June,
September and December, but under the control
of Street Press Australia, will now be available
in venues, studios and many other additional
outlets, as well as being available for iPad.
In the months between the quarterly issues,
this supplement will run in Street Press titles
nationally, each with a specific theme in mind.
This month we bring you LIVE, a look at what’s
involved in getting a show on the road. We
speak with three of Australia’s busiest sound
engineers, road test a PA, chat to Zakk Wylde
about playing live and offer you news on the
latest sound, lighting and stage gear available.
In the following months you’ll find features
titled Hardcore, Accessories, Geek, DIY,
Fretted, Recording, FX, Listen and Xmas!
A recent survey conducted by SPA found that
more than 50% of readers of their weekly street
mags are musicians. It makes sense then that
Australian Musician and Street Press come
together to support Australia’s gear industry and
our beloved musician community by offering you
even more coverage ... and how karmic that we
launch the Australian Musician features during
SLAM (Save Live Australian Music) week!
However, some things don’t change.
We’ll still go that extra mile to bring you the
exclusive stories, coming from creative angles,
and achieving access to the big names at
soundcheck, backstage and beyond, We’ll also
keep up the tradition of personally involving
our rich pool of local musicians by getting likeminded artists together in conversation and
offering them guest writing opportunities,
The licensing of the AMA’s flagship magazine
Australian Musician to SPA benefits everyone
in the music industry. We hope you enjoy our
introductory feature and embrace this exciting
new concept. Plug it in, turn it up and rip into it!
GREG PHILLIPS
Australian Musician Editor

M

ixing a pub gig is one scenario a sound
engineer can face, but what about when it
comes to a major concert venue? Just how
different could it be? “One is like driving a fourcylinder car and the other is like driving a V8,” is
how Craig Abbott describes the difference between
working the mixing desk for a band in a pub and
an international act in an arena. “With a concert,
you’re trying to reach a greater number in the
audience over a wider area. You still get feedback.
You still get issues with lead singers complaining.
It’s very similar in how it works.” Abbott is a
respected sound engineer who works as a Technical
Representative for Jands’ production audio division.
For Craig, keeping up with sound technology is vital
and continues to be a learning curve for him, but
surely your ears are still the most important gauge
of a good sound? “I’d like to say your ears are the
most important instrument of an engineer but it is
not that simple. Trying to time align and phase align
everything within the PA... you can’t sit at every probe
point around the room at all times... it’s difficult to
gauge if everyone in the room is getting hit with the
same amount of sound at the same time. Therefore
the digital consoles or what they call the DSP (Digital
Signal Processing)… all that has taken a lot of the
work away from us. There’s also the software packages
like Smaart and MAP which monitor the PA at all
times to see what it is doing and how the sound is
hitting certain microphones that could be situated
36 • THE DRUM MEDIA

MIXING IT
BIG TIME
CRAIG ABBOTT FROM JANDS HAS MIXED A WIDE RANGE OF LOCAL
AND INTERNATIONAL ACTS FROM NOISEWORKS TO GEORGE MICHAEL.
AM INVESTIGATES THE WORLD OF MAJOR CONCERT SOUND.
around the room. We have schematics of a room before we even get there. We can calculate how many speakers we
need to hang per floor and we can get dispersion of pressures and frequencies we can expect to hear within that
room, all stuff you can’t get from your ears. So a lot of it is done on a computer prior to even getting to the venue.”
With more at stake, you’d expect a concert engineer to be on their toes, but what are they looking out for?
“Feedback is an obvious one,” says Craig. “Also, watching for the limitations of the system and monitoring your
outputs at all times. With the digital consoles these days, if they go into distortion … digital distortion is horrible
to your ears compared to analogue distortion. It can be like a crossed line on a mobile phone or very high rate fax
machine in your ear. The number one thing you have to do is to make sure that the act people have come to hear
… they can hear! If you’re at a concert where the drummer has got a bit excited and knocked the tom mic off the
drum with a stick, it’s not as diabolical as losing the vocals. You can hide a lost tom a lot easier than a vocal.”

“

I’D LIKE TO SAY YOUR EARS ARE THE
MOST IMPORTANT INSTRUMENT OF
AN ENGINEER BUT IT IS NOT THAT SIMPLE.”

Like any musical instrument, a PA system needs to be tuned, but how exactly do you tune a PA?
Abbott explains. “I’ll give you an example of tuning a PA at a really basic level. If you set up a really
simple system where you have two speakers on either side of the stage on stands, and If you had a
comedian on for instance... you’d turn the microphone on. Then, without anyone talking into it and
being as quiet as you possibly can, you get on stage. Turn the microphone up as loud as possible
before it starts feeding back. When it does start feeding back, it’s up to the sound guy to find those
frequencies within that EQ. That’s where you start with your EQ... at absolute unity, so it’s dead
flat. Then basically you find the offending frequency and slowly pull it down until it dissipates. By
the time you’ve done that, you have EQ’d the room so your speakers will suit the room’s natural
ambience. A lot of people think you have to tune your PA to get the best out of your speakers. No,
you have to tune your speakers to suit the room you are working in. These days a lot of it is done by
computers with feedback eliminators, notch filters and they will monitor the system at all times.
In regard to achieving a great instrument sound, Abbot views the gain structure set up as vital. To explain,
gain is the amplification of the signal. When you extend the voltage level of the signal, that’s what is called
gain. The structure refers to the voltage levels in your PA and the gain it takes to get them to the required
levels.”It’s the same as spray painting a car,” is Abbott’s analogy. “If you don’t prepare the body underneath,
you’re not going to get the nice look on top! Then it comes down to the microphone you choose, making

themusic.com.au

sure it has the correct pattern... whether you’re
using cardioid or super cardioid. Microphone
positioning is important, making sure your guitar
mic is not too close to the speaker if you are
not di-ing it and that it’s a little bit off, so it
enables the sound to develop from the cone so
that you’re not pulling it straight off the centre
of the driver of the amp. Let it develop a little
bit first so you are getting the full frequencies
coming out of the driver. You can check out the
Shure website on microphone positioning and
choosing the correct mic for your situation.”
Of course any young band with three chords, the
truth and an inordinate amount of attitude is going
to want to play loud! However, it’s not simply a
matter of just turning the volume up. “You’ve got
to understand the limitations of the amps that you
have as well as the venue you’re in and the PA
system you are running into,” says Craig. “There’s
no point having a 200 watt guitar amp going flat
out on stage when you’ve only got 100 watts front
of house because you are outside the limitations
of your PA. Also do you want loud on stage or
loud front of house? If you want it to be loud out
front, then let the person who is the engineer get
the loudness. They should have the control. You
don’t want a war between yourselves on stage
with one turning up, then the other turning up
and the lead singer can’t hear him or herself
through the monitors. You have to work within
the limitations of what you’re using. If you want
to go louder, then you’ve got to get a bigger PA.”
At some point a developing act may consider
purchasing their own PA. There is merit in having
a consistent sound each time you play a gig
and it also takes away the surprise factor when
you arrive at a venue without prior knowledge of
the system you’ll be playing through. How the
hell do you know what to buy though? Abbott
suggests that the sound quality is only one of
the considerations when buying a PA. “What do
you feel comfortable with using and have best
knowledge of,” is another, says Craig. “One of
the best ways of getting the best sound out of
your gear is being familiar with how it works.
Worth saving a little extra to buy better quality
gear because you will appreciate it in the long
run. Even a good quality cable can effect your
sound big time! Depending on how long you have
to run your cable… each cable has a certain
resistive value over a certain length. The more
you increase resistance, the more output from the
amp you’re using.” For the record, Craig’s mixer
of choice is the Soundcraft Vi6 digital desk.

T
AUSTRALIAN
PRESONUS
ROADSHOW
NAS, has recently taken on the Australian
distribution of the PreSonus brand and is taking
their gear to the street. To promote PreSonus’
product updates, new pricing and progressive
software, they’ll be touring around the country
showing what the PreSonus range can do. Shows
will feature demonstrations of the StudioLive
console range, StudioOne 2 recording software
and the amazing new QMix Control Software
for iphone and iPad. Home studio enthusiasts
will love that one. Attendees will also have
the opportunity of picking up some gear but
you’ve got to be there to have a chance. It’s
recommended that you register a spot however,
walk up regos are fine too. Melbourne and Sydney
have already had a taste of the show. Remaining
dates include: Brisbane on Wednesday 22
February and Perth on Thursday 23. Register
via email at presonus@nationalaudio.com.au

CX ROADSHOW
Too much stage gear is never enough! CX
magazine is also hitting the road the same
week as the Presonus guys in conjunction with
a whole bunch of gear distributors including
Jands, Amber Technology, CMI, Bosch,
ULA, LSC, PRG, Show Technology, Syntec,
TAG, and Production Audio Technology.
The CX show will feature demos and seminars
with key addresses by John Maizels and
Thomas Lund. Register at cx-tv.com or you
can register at the door. Dates remaining
include: Sydney on Wednesday 22 February,
Melbourne on Monday 27, Adelaide on
Wednesday 29 and Perth on Tuesday 6 March.

o those who are unfamiliar with
Germany’s HK Audio, they are a company
dedicated to providing superb sound
re-enforcement solutions to their customers,
whilst constantly challenging industry standards
with their radical design and creative approach.
This has never been more apparent with the
arrival of the new HK Elements PA systems.
Essentially the “Elements” are a series of
portable line arrays that couple active and
passive components to achieve stunning results.
The 10” sub enclosures (active or passive)
are combined with a wide-range, passive 4 x
3.5” mid/high box (E345), which is powered
by an active sub or additional E600 amp.
Different parts of the PA are linked together
with HK’s amazing E-connect technology,
which does away with any need for physical
cables, and adding specific HK stands and
bases also changes how each PA throws its
sound, adding further flexibility for users.
I road tested a basic set up comprised of one
E110A active sub powering two E435’s, with
a speakon cable split off to power the passive
version of the same rig on the other side. All up
there were two subs and four E435’s running at
600 watts in mono, which was practical enough
to get an idea of how this system sounds.
I tested the pint-sized rig using my Line
6 Variax instead of bringing along a stock
acoustic due to the vast array of tones it
conjures up and also opted not to bring a vocal
mic, as my voice is only reserved strictly for
backing vocals (due to its crappy nature).
The first thing that was immediately apparent
was how sweet the top end was across a wide
variety of different guitar sounds, from jazz
to acoustic and beyond, all the harmonic
content was very present and notably
sweet, without the piercing tone that cheap
horns give you in most active PA boxes.
A nifty XLR/ ¼” input on the back of the active
sub meant I could plug directly into the PA,

L

If there’s a pattern which emerges in Clint and
Lloyd’s advice, it’s preparation. The more the
performer is organised, the more time the sound
guy can spend on tweaking sound. In fact, both
are continually surprised at how unprepared
bands can be. Lloyd has lost count of the amount
of times musicians show up to a gig without the
basic needs such as leads. “They bring all their
pedals and not have them plugged together, so
it takes longer to set up. No leads, powerboards,
batteries. It happens more with bands starting
out, they expect the sound guy to have everything.
Music stands are another one, they’ll say ‘we
had one supplied last year when we were here’.

switch down to -10dBu to boost my signal
and play to my heart’s content. The subs
provided heaps of low-end rumble, whilst
still staying solid and tight and actually
seemed roll off quite high in comparison
with other subs I’ve tried out. This translated
to a smoother crossover between the 435’s
and the sub and a smaller frequency gap
between the two than what you’d imagine.
It’s obvious that the HK Elements have set
a new standard in portable PA technology,
and the “mix and match” concept they’ve
brought forth, makes it so clever and flexible
that it’s finally possible to provide people
with between 600 and 3600 watts of crystal
clear, high definition portable audio.

have a big effect on how the room sounds. One
of my favourite venues to mix in Melbourne is
the Northcote Social Club. It is a medium sized
room that has perforated acoustic roof panels,
a stage that is surrounded by heavy curtains
and the entire room has carpet over wooden
floorboards (something not many venues like
the idea of because of not being able to mop up
spilt drinks or sweep up broken glass easily).”

loyd Barrett mixed sound for Australian singer,
songwriter Mia Dyson for a decade. It’s a job
which took him to many places, working in
a variety of rooms and outdoor venues. After his
stint with Mia finished, he took up residency at
Melbourne’s soon to be deceased East Brunswick
Club. His sound gig now is even more eclectic,
moving faders for a blend of comedians, burlesque
acts and rock bands at Red Bennies. Barrett believes
that a major factor in achieving a great sound out
front of stage, is to firstly get the sound right on
stage. It may seem obvious, however Lloyd is not
necessarily talking about performance levels but
the balance of volume between band members. “If
a guitarist is louder than the other or the band is
louder than the singer, it’s a problem,” says Lloyd.
“If a guitarist wants to be loud, angle the guitar amps
across stage or to back of stage or even off stage.”
Clint Sigmund agrees. “Get your stage volume right.
If the sound engineer asks you to turn down your
amp, don’t take offence. I promise, we are trying
to make your band sound better, not worse!” Clint
should know, his long list of mixing credits includes
Alpine, Amanda Palmer, Ennis Tola, Kimbra, Rat
Vs Possum, The Galvatrons, Gunn St Girls, and 67
Special to name a handful. “With pedals, try and
get the volume difference between different effects
sorted before the show,” he added. “Boosts should
be minimal. I regularly have to inform guitarists
that their clean sound is way louder than their
dirty sound.” It’s not just guitarists that need to get
their house in order early in the night either, Clint
recommends that keyboard players ensure that
the different patches don’t have massive volume
jumps. For instance, fizzy synth sounds will be
more efficient than a smooth sounding soft pad.

REVIEW

THE PUB MIX
SPARE A THOUGHT FOR THE SOUND CREW NEXT TIME YOU HEAD OUT
TO A PUB GIG. THEY’VE BEEN THERE WELL BEFORE YOU, SETTING UP
AND TUNING THE PA SYSTEM SO THAT THE ACT YOU’VE COME TO SEE
SOUNDS AS GOOD AS THEY SHOULD. THEY’LL BE THERE WELL AFTER
YOU’VE GONE TOO. AUSTRALIAN MUSICIAN SOUGHT ADVICE ON
HOW TO ACHIEVE A GREAT GIG SOUND BY CHATTING TO TWO SOUND
ENGINEERS WHO HAVE MIXED THEIR FAIR SHARE OF PUBS AND CLUBS.
Beyond what the band does on stage, the size and a shape of a room are major considerations for the sound
engineer, particularly when the venue hasn’t done their homework or consulted a credible audio professional.
“Unfortunately this is one of the most expensive things to address from the venue’s point of view and is
often overlooked when planning a band room,” says Clint. “I know of a few band rooms around Melbourne
that have what should be a fantastic sounding PA system, only to be let down by poor room acoustics. On
the other end of the spectrum, there are some band rooms that have good room acoustics and cheaper PA
systems, that probably shouldn’t sound as good as they do. The materials that the room is made out of also

themusic.com.au

Think back to any gig which has remained in your
mind as a one of the best you’ve experienced.
Performance values obviously come into play
(as well as the company you kept that night) but
chances are the quality of sound had a lot to do
with your enjoyment. Lloyd Barrett recalls a recent
Joe Cocker gig at A Day On The Green as the best
sounding he has heard for a long time. For Clint,
it was a St.Kilda Festival Kimbra gig. “Johnston
Audio had the PA sounding great,” said Clint.
“The band performed really well and I somehow
fluked what I thought was a great sounding mix
with a 20 minute line check and a band I had only
mixed once before.” Unfortunately, things don’t
always go right for the sound guy and Sigmund
still has nightmares about the bad ones. “I won’t
name the venue, but I’d never mixed there before
this gig and probably won’t take another booking
there. I did the usual setup of mics, stands and
leads then went to tune front of house. The entire
left side of the PA wasn’t working. After telling
the bar staff of the problem, I was soon on the
phone to a sound guy that regularly worked at the
venue. He seemed to be aware of the problem,
hadn’t bothered to attend to it and it wasn’t able
to be fixed before the show. I ended up using
one of the fold-back monitors as the left side of
the PA. It worked out alright and got the show
on the road, but it just wasn’t quite right.” In the
course of research for this story, another sound
engineer told Australian Musician that his crew
had once spent a whole day setting up a 1,000
seater room for a corporate gig, only to discover
10 minutes before show time that it was the
room next door which was the actual venue.
As for Lloyd’s tools of trade, he prefers
the Midas Heritage desk. Clint is a Midas
man too. “I feel most at home on Midas
consoles, haven’t tried their digital consoles
yet, but have heard good things.”
THE DRUM MEDIA • 37

A

ll the great bands have fans, but there are a
rare few whose fanbase take their worship to
another level. Take Zakk Wylde’s Black Label
Society for example. Wylde possesses a worldwide
family of no bullshit, hard rockin’ metal devotees. It’s
easy to see why. Wylde is the quintessential heavy rock
guitar hero. As guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne for around
two decades, he wasn’t afraid to step into the revered
shoes of Randy Rhoads and make them his own.
The guys worship his killer guitar riffs, blokey persona
and take no prisoners attitude, and the bad-guy-lovin’
girls are attracted to Wylde like moths to a light globe.
Image however can be a deceptive thing. Despite
the imposing facade, Wylde is also one of the nicest
guys in rock’n’roll. He’s also one of the busiest. It
wasn’t long after the release of his current rock album
Order Of The Black, that he presented us with an
acoustic version of some of those same songs under
the moniker The Song Remains Not The Same. Yet
another acoustic-based project, an Unblackened DVD,
featuring a bunch of guest artists is to be tackled as
soon as he wraps up his Australian tour as part of
Soundwave. Wylde is quick to deny he’s going soft,
rather he’s just satisfying the requests of his followers.
“Well we did do The Song Remains Not The Same
but we have also been out on the road doing the
heavy stuff for almost 15 months now,” he says.
“We’re talkin’ about doing another live DVD and
we’ve already done two with the heavy stuff.”
Zakk Wylde gear nerds will be thrilled to know that
Gibson has released yet another signature model
Zakk guitar. This one is an all-maple Les Paul Vertigo
design. Wylde had been been using a prototype on
his recent tour supporting Guns N’ Roses and broke
it out at the Winter NAMM show in Anaheim in midJanuary. Also at this year’s Winter NAMM, the big man
was bestowed with the honour of being the inaugural
‘roastee’ at Guitar World’s first ever Rock’n’Roll Roast
with Ozzy Osbourne’s wife Sharon playing Roastmaster
and fellow hard rockers Anthrax’s Scott Ian, Slipknot/
Stone Sour vocalist Corey Taylor, and Fozzy frontman
Chris Jericho among others, firing barbs at Wylde.
But back to the axe chat, the folks at Gibson have gone
to great lengths to create guitars for Wylde that he
is comfortable putting his name to. Of all the factors
going into the guitar build, I ask Wylde if there was

stand that. I like Zakk Wylde but I don’t like
him that much! That’s the running joke on stage.
It’s like Zakk Wylde, I dig him, he’s cool and
everything but I don’t like him THAT much!”

BLEEDING BLACK
FEW CAN INSTILL SUCH ALLEGIANCE IN THEIR FANS AS HARD
ROCKIN’ GUITAR HERO ZAKK WYLDE. WHEN HE HITS THE
STAGE, HIS FANS COME ALIVE IMMEDIATELY. WYLDE IS A HELL
OF A GENEROUS GUY WITH HIS TIME, LOVES A CHAT, AND HE’S
ALSO SAVVY ENOUGH TO KNOW THAT THE MORE THE ZAKK WYLDE
NAME GETS OUT THERE, THE MORE HIS BRAND IS ENHANCED.
A GLANCE AT WYLDE’S RELENTLESS AUSTRALIAN PHONE INTERVIEW
SCHEDULE PROVES JUST THAT. GREG PHILLIPS SPEAKS TO THE
MEGA GUITAR GOD PRIOR TO HIS ZAKK WYLDE’S BLACK
LABEL SOCIETY SHOWS AT THIS YEAR’S SOUNDWAVE.
one particular quality they just had to get right? “Put it this way,” he says. “Every guitar I use… with my signature
guitars… I could pick one of these off the wall of a store and take it on stage and play that thing. Gibson have done
an amazing job with them and all of the Epiphones that they’ve made for me as well – the Flying Vs’ the LPs, SGs –
but usually it’s the shaved back and neck, the higher fret wire, the EMG pickups… but they’re all amazing guitars.”
Obviously playing the style of rock Wylde does so well, to feed the need of his disciples, it’s
gotta be loud, but I wondered what Wylde has learned about volume over the years…
‘Usually with me and even playing with Ozzy, I’ve always gone to the bottom cabs. There’s a difference between
painful loud and loud where it’s not piercing your ears like an ice pick. There’s good loud and there’s… well,
it’s like putting hot sauce on food. You know, the difference between being overpowering or adding to the overall
meal of what you’re eating. It adds another colour. I don’t play to the point where I want to kill myself. I can’t

That Wylde can emit the most wicked of guitar licks
is undeniable, but what’s often overlooked is his
incredible set of rock’n’roll tonsils. His coarse-grade
sandpaper voice complemented with a generous serve
of bottom end creates the perfect rock vocal and
in the studio he puts as much time and effort into
capturing it as he does his guitar takes. “Whether
we double the vocal or just do it single or line by
line, we just make sure everything is slammin’,”
says Wylde. “It’s pretty much like the guitar stuff, I
double the guitars and all of that. That’s the beautiful
thing about the studio, it’s a controlled environment
and you’re painting a picture. So you can step back
from it and say, well maybe we can make the sky a
little darker or a little more blue or whatever. Live,
it’s just a free for all… one shot and that’s it.”
Wylde has recently been having a ball supporting
Gun N’ Roses on their US tour and there’s a great
YouTube clip of him jamming with Axl Rose on
the AC/DC classic Whole Lotta Rosie. It’s a band
he’s had a long association with. “Highway To Hell
was one of the first songs I ever learned on electric
guitar,” claimed Wylde. “I remember when Back
In Black came out ‘cause everybody and their
mother had that album. You’d go to parties and
Back In Black would be cranking all the time. AC/
DC is amazing… and they’re still killin’ it!”
I left Wylde to prepare for his Soundwave Zakk
Wylde’s Black Label Society “blitzkrieg” and
he asked to me to pass on a message to his
Zakk Wylde’s Black Label Society Australian
family… “Stay strong and bleed black.”
WHO: Zakk Wylde’s Black Label Society
WHEN & WHERE: Saturday 25 February,
Soundwave Festival, RNA Showgrounds, Fortitude
Valley; Sunday 26 February, Soundwave Festival,
Sydney Showground; Tuesday 28 February, Forum
Theatre, Melbourne; Thursday 1 March, Metro
Theatre, Sydney; Friday 2 March, Soundwave
Festival, Showgrounds, Flemington; Monday 5 March,
Soundwave Festival, Showgrounds, Claremont

CAPTURES THE SPIRIT
IN EVERY NOTE.

SHURE BETA MICROPHONES Optimised for high sound pressure levels, extremely low handling noise and
higher gain-before-feedback. Accurate, focused polar patterns. Virtually indestructible. Precision control to
practically eliminate bleed. Because the sound should be as clear and inspired as the message.

hile most Australians ducked and heard
the global financial crisis whizz by our
ears, our American friends copped it
square in the face… and are still suffering the
effects of it. Local music retailers and wholesalers
will tell you that the crisis has finally caught up
with us, but if Winter NAMM (the annual American
music trade fair held in Anaheim, California) is
anything to go by, then things are looking up.
The 110th NAMM show hosted a record 95,709
attendees, a six percent increase on last year and
an all-time show record. What this indicates is that
the music gear industry is defiantly going about its
business with confidence. The manufacturers and
distributers are making a lot of new gear available
and the retailers are keen to check it out… as we
are! Australian Musician investigates
some of the gear released at
this year’s NAMM show.
Gibson guitars released the
Signature Series Ace Frehley
‘Budokan’ Les Paul, a recreation
of the famous guitar which first
appeared on stage with Kiss in
1977. Another signature model
unveiled at NAMM by Gibson was
the Joe Bonamassa Aged Les Paul
Goldtop. Bonamassa stopped by the
Gibson booth along with Brian Wilson,
Dave Navarro, ‘60s icon Donovan and many
others. Meanwhile, the folks over at the Fender
booth were excited about the signature model
guitar for British guitar legend Johnny Marr. The
50th Anniversary Fender Jaguar also debuted, as
well as the Kurt Cobain Fender Mustang. In yet
another collaborative effort, Fender and Roland
were thrilled to release their new hi-tech G-5 VG
Stratocaster and GK Ready Strat. Celebrating their
25th anniversary year, Ibanez offered the RG1XXV
FYE and RG1XXV FPK, flouro-coloured metal
monsters as well as a couple of striking new S
Series shred machines. Ibanez also celebrated a
25 year association with Steve Vai with the release
of the JEM-EVO. Speaking of metal guitars, not
to be outdone, ESP showed off their new Kirk
Hammett KH-DC, LTD KH-DC and LTD KH-25
signature models. PRS added to their signature
range with three new models including one for Neal
Schon, Dave Navarro, and Australia’s Orianthi.
Canadian-based company Godin premiered two
new additions to their Godin Series as well as
three new left-handed guitars, the Multiac SA
Nylon, Multiac Encore Nylon and the Session
from their Performance range. Peavey introduced
the AT-200, a guitar that features Antares AutoTune technology which means it never goes out
of tune. ESP made a bold showing this year with
21 new instruments including the HRF series,
new Eclipses & Horizons plus Slayer, Metallica,
Anthrax, Suicide Silence signatures and more.
On the acoustic side, Takamine celebrated
their 50th anniversary by presenting seven
new models in their G Series; the EG340DLX,
EG536SHB, EG430SC-WR, EG755S, EG455SC,
EG355SCTB and G406S-VS. It was also with
some pride that Takamine released the T50th,
a beautifully crafted guitar of which they
have only produced 50 units in total. Martin
guitars, who have a new distributor in Australia

40 • THE DRUM MEDIA

(ELFA) displayed the 00-45SC John Mayer signature model, limited to only 25
pieces. One of the most intriguing releases this year was Washburn’s Paul Stanley
model acoustic, the PSAV, which takes the shape of an electric Flying V.
From the amp world, Fender gave us two curios including the Greta and Excelsior, which
are extensions of their esoteric Pawn Shop range. Orange joined the small amp trend
offering the Micro Terror, and UK heavyweight Marshall gave us the 50th
anniversary range of one watt amps. Celebrating each decade of
popular Marshall models, at NAMM they gave us head
and combo versions of the JTM1, JMP1, JCM1,
DSL1 and JVM1, all in mini mode. Jet
City unveiled the Earhart 50, a
hand-wired two-channel
50-Watt

THE
NAMM
SHOW 2012
IT AIN’T GONNA HAPPEN FOR YOU LIVE ON STAGE IF YOU DON’T HAVE
THE GEAR TO CUT IT. AUSTRALIAN MUSICIAN TAKES A LOOK AT
THIS YEAR’S NAMM SHOW RELEASES TO SEE WHAT INSTRUMENTS
COULD SOON BE PUMPIN’ THROUGH YOUR PA.
head. Also of note was the Ampeg Micro-CL Stack, delivering 100 Watts
of blissful Ampeg tone. The Vox Limited-Edition Blue-Covered
AC Series was quite tasty, and creating a lot of talk down at
the Ashdown booth was the Classic Tube Magnifier 300.
Italian-based company DV Mark offered six new pedals
including DV7 Booster, DV7 Distorsore, DV Fuzzer, DV Mini
Boost, DV Mini Dist, and DV Mini Drive. For the metal guys,
Blackstar released their awesome HT-Metal all-valve pedal.
Vox gave us the Delay Lab pedal, offering 30 presets and a
28-second looper. Keeping with NAMM 2012’s fascination
with all things mini, TC Electronic displayed the PolyTune
Mini. The always-innovative folk at Digitech trumpeted their
iStomp, a pedal which connects to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod
touch, allowing you to browse a selection of 24 stompboxes.
Korg chipped in with their PitchBlack Poly, their new guitar
and bass pedal tuner featuring ‘String Seeker’. Source Audio
debuted their new Soundblox 2 range of pedals which include

themusic.com.au

the Multiwave Bass Distortion and
Dimension Reverb.
The Gretsch people knew how to attract a
crowd with their amazing massive all-chrome
custom drum kit. Also impressing many
was their Brooklyn USA series, Energy
series and entry-level Renegade series
drum sets. Yamaha’s successful Stage
Custom Birch kit was seen in two
new colour finishes, Matte
Black and Honey Amber.
Roland brought their
SuperNATURAL®
technology to the
V-Drums, V-Pro
TD-30KV and
TD-30K kits, and
released the HD-3
V-Drums Lite, as well
as DT-1 V-Drums Tutor
software for PC and Mac.
As usual, Roland
provided some great
new keyboard releases
with their BK-5 backing
keyboard and AT-900
Atelier organ. Casio
put in a strong showing
with their slick looking XW-P1 and
XW-G1 synths. Korg championed
their new SV1-73 and SV1-88 in a
sleek black finish and also offered
a limited edition release of the SV173 and SV1-88 with reversed keys.
The list of brilliant new gear on show
at NAMM this year is endless. Here
are few more isolated finds we couldn’t
fail to mention. The world’s first powered
pedalboard from SKB took our notice.
SKB have been designing innovative
pedalboards for guitar enthusiasts for
more than 15 years and have developed
the world’s first AC/DC pedalboard with a
built-in combo amp featuring a 6” Eminence
speaker. The 1SKB-FN-8 FootNote®Amplified
Pedalboard is a fully powered pedalboard that
will accommodate up to eight 9-Volt DC pedals
and can be taken anywhere. Shure revealed
their new ULX-D digital wireless microphone
system. Zoom presented the G5 guitar effects and
amp simulator, offering 120 effects including 20
amp models. Another neat little release this year
came from Hohner, the John Lennon Sig. Series
harmonica. Hohner has had a long relationship
with John Lennon and The Beatles, dating right
back to the early days of Beatlemania. Now, by
special arrangement with the John Lennon estate,
Hohner presents a limited edition John Lennon
Signature Series harmonica. The instrument features
reproductions of John’s signature and five-colour selfportrait on a specially engraved white cover plate.
It also features a transparent acrylic comb, screwed
construction throughout and MS-style reed-plates.
Available in the key of C only. We were also pleased to
see Audio Technica’s ATM510 and ATM610a dynamic
handheld microphones and ATH-M50WH pro studio
monitor headphones… reliable, quality gear.
Most, if not all of the above products will find
their way into Australian music
stores over ensuing months.
Go and check it all out!

BEHIND
THE LINES
WITH MICHAEL SMITH

SONG SUMMIT 2012
Early bird registrations are now open for
Song Summit 2012, a premier music event
dedicated to supporting composers, songwriters
and the wider music industry with conferences,
workshops, performances and networking
running Saturday 26 through Monday 28 May
at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre,
Darling Harbour, presented by APRA/AMCOS
and the NSW Government through Destination
Australia. Among the speakers, both local and
international, confirmed to attend are Grammy
Award winning singer/songwriter Imogen Heap,
legendary fellow American, guitarist Steve
Cropper, our own Paul Kelly and too many
more to mention here, so check into the Song
Summit website for full details and to register.
Early bird registration offers the first 200
registrants up to $60 off the three-day pass, with
discounts also available for single-day passes.

THE STEVE LUKATHER
MUSIC MAN
Ernie Ball has just announced the latest
innovation in the signature Steve Lukather
Music Man guitar series. The new Luke III
model features a larger alder wood body, 22-fret
full rosewood neck and new passive DiMarzio
pickups with a custom Music Man active preamp,
while on the electronics side of things, the III
includes a dual humbucking or H-S-S pickup
configuration, volume control and a passive
tone control with a new push/pull switch for an
adjustable 12dB volume boost. We should see
the Luke III hit Australian retailers in June.

SOUND BYTES
Cancer Bats once again utilised Vespa
Studios in Toronto and producers Eric Ratz
and Kenny Luong for the recording of their
fourth album, Dead Set On Living, due in
April and of which the band’s singer Liam
Cormier has said, “We really strived for that
raw, off-the-floor vibe this time around.”
Perth five-piece Rainy Day Women recorded
all but one track of their debut EP, Sleigh
Bed, at Debaser Studios with producer Andy
Lawson (Eskimo Joe, End Of Fashion), who
also mixed it before sending it to Studios
301 in Sydney for Steve Smart to master.
Last year’s Judges Award winners in the National
Youth Week Songwriting Competition, Brisbane
four-piece electro-rockers Fushia, worked with
fellow Brisbanite, engineer Jeff Lovejoy on their
new EP, Open Invite, at Studios 301 in Sydney.
BTL@STREETPRESS.COM.AU

SKB ROAD CASES

PHONIC’S NEW SAFARI
3000 MOBILE PA
Released at Winter NAMM 2012 was the impressive
Phonic Safari 3000, a 320 Watt Mobile PA System
with 3-Channel Mixer. It’s a fully self-contained
all-in-one portable audio system with slick
moulded speaker cabinet with handle and wheels
for easy mobility. The system packs 320 Watts
(peak) of power through high performance class D
amplification. It features 2-way output through 10”
long-throw woofer matched with a pure-titanium
compression driver, Two mono 1/4” & XLR combo
inputs, plus a stereo input with 1/8” and RCA
connectors, and 2-track RCA outputs for connecting
to external devices. You can also connect additional
passive speakers via Speakon speaker output
with 80W output. There’s an onboard tone control
for enhancing high and low frequency audio and
provides 12V phantom power available on combo
inputs. The Safari 3000 includes built-in battery
with 4-stage status monitoring and switching power
supply reduces weight and enables multi-national
operation. Two storage slots are available for handheld microphones and there’s an optional anti-shock
CD player with MP3 playback and USB port.
www.cmi.com.au

POSSE AUDIO launches an amazing, affordable
and compact system for musicians, recording
artists, and music venues, eliminating the need
for a monitor mix sound technician and allowing
for easy customization of ear monitors on stage
or in the studio. The POSSE system (Personal
On Stage Sound Environment) seamlessly
interfaces with wireless earphone and instrument
systems and comes with an acoustic gooseneck
mic for the unelectrified. You can also use
a built-in phantom power supply, record all
your performances, play music during the
break, and tune with a line-of-sight tuner—all.
POSSE is great for private practicing too.

Up to 10 musicians can simultaneously control
their StudioLive monitor mixes using an iPhone®
or iPod touch® and PreSonus’ free QMix™
app. QMix builds on PreSonus’ original Virtual
StudioLive (VSL), which provides bidirectional
computer control of PreSonus StudioLive™series mixers via FireWire. QMix works by
networking one or more iPhones wirelessly with a
Mac® or PC, enabling QMix to remotely access
VSL to control one or more FireWire-connected
StudioLive mixers. As each iPhone connects to
the network, its copy of QMix will discover all
StudioLive mixers on the network, enabling each
musician to quickly and easily create an aux mix
that includes all mixer channels. And QMix lets
the engineer set permissions so that each iPhone
on the network only controls a specified mix.

For information visit www.trc.com.au

www.nationalaudio.com.au

Designed for professional vocalists and performers,
the new flagship XD-V75 line includes handheld,
lavalier, headset and bodypack digital wireless
systems. The family offers pure, 24-bit sound with
unparalleled reliability and a full complement of
professional features including signal encryption,
dynamic filters, gain control, channel scanning and
more to handle the most complex applications.

YAMAHA RELEASES
THE MGP SERIES
COMPACT MIXERS
Yamaha has provided an impressive range of lineups
in professional audio since the release of the PM200
in 1972 and their first digital mixer, the DMP7 in
1987. With both the 40th and 25th anniversaries of
these landmark achievements landing in 2012, it is no
coincidence that they have released a product which
draws from their rich past and looks far into the future.
The new series comprises two models with two different
channel configurations – MGP12X and MGP16X.
The series features newly-refined discrete Class-A
microphone preamps that use an inverted Darlington
circuit design delivering a fat, rich, smooth tone. For
superior sound-shaping capability, Yamaha’s proprietary
X-pressive EQ manages to capture ultimate analog
authenticity by reproducing the unique frequency
characteristics of sought-after classic EQ modules. At
the heart of the MGP’s compact configuration, they’ve
taken an innovative new approach to the utilisation of
digital technology in an analog mixer—adding highresolution effects, iPod/iPhone integration and the
functionality of their new Stereo Hybrid Channel to
the warmth and musicality of premium analog sound.
www.yamahamusic.com.au

themusic.com.au

THE DRUM MEDIA • 41

IPAD 2 HOLDER AND
STAND HOLDER

IS YOUR SHURE
MICROPHONE
GENUINE?
The folks at Shure go to great lengths to ensure
that their products are produced to the same lofty
manufacturing standards time after time. You can
imagine how peeved they are to discover an increase
in counterfeit Shure gear being sold around the
world. While some of the bogus Shure microphones
may have visual similarities to the original product,
the sound and build quality are nowhere near the
quality of those built by Shure. Unfortunately, the
counterfeiters are targeting some of Shure’s top selling
microphones, in particular, the SM58 and SM57, two
of the most famous mics on the market. Given the
poor quality of the counterfeit models, it makes you
wonder why the bogus market has taken off, however
at first glance the models may seem to be genuine.
In response to the glut of counterfeits, Jands, the
Australian distributor of Shure gear has taken steps
to ensure that customers know exactly what they are
buying. First of all, they suggest you make your Shure
purchases from authorised dealers. Secondly, they
have introduced the Shure anti-counterfeit sticker
on 4 of their top selling mics in their range: SM58,
SM57, BETA58A and PG58XLR. Look out for the
silver mylar stickers on these microphone models.
Each sticker carries its own serial number which
you can key into the product validation service on
the Jands website to confirm it is a genuine Shure
microphone. If your Shure product is not authentic,
a page will appear with the appropriate details of
who you should contact. The product validation
service can be found at www.jands.com.au
www.jands.com.au

AFFORDABLE STAGE
LIGHTING FROM
LIGHT EMOTION
Adding stage lighting to your performance may have
been an exercise for the big bands in the past, but the
folks at Light Emotion make it an affordable option
with their wide array of products. Their Moonstar 3
for example, is a spectacular mixed laser and LED
effect. It features 100mW Red, and 40mW Green
Laser diode and can be purchased for under $300.
The Thunderbolt range includes blue and green
single colours with red green yellow, red violet pink
and green violet cyan available in three-colour
combinations. The Thunderbolt G features 40mW
Green Laser diode and comes in under $200. Both
Thunderbolt and Moonstar range are DMX controllable,
and can be either stand alone or master/slave and
include a digital LED display control system.

STAGESCAPE™ M20D
FROM LINE 6
StageScape™ M20d is the world’s first smart
mixing system for live sound. Utilizing a
groundbreaking touchscreen visual mixing
environment, StageScape M20d streamlines
the way you mix to get your sound dialed in
quickly and stay in the creative zone. Massive
DSP power delivers comprehensive, professional
audio processing on every channel including
multi-band feedback suppression. Pristine audio
quality will impact your stage performances,
and multi-channel recording allows you to easily
capture every rehearsal or show, with or without
a computer. The entire system can be controlled
remotely from the stage or audience with one
or more iPad® devices. StageScape M20d is
the integrated professional mixing system that
delivers great live sound, so you can focus on
what’s most important: your performance.

Konig & Meyer present a clever way to display your
iPad. The new connector holds an iPad securely and
comfortably. Whether on stage, in the rehearsal room
or at home and stage; the strong prismatic element
with its ergonomic clamping screw allows the iPad
holder to be attached quickly and easily to any
tubes up to 30 mm diameter. The iPad 2 is snapped
in or out of into holder effortlessly. The pivoting
range is second to none, allowing the user the iPad
2 position of their choice. The swivel movement
can be adjusted from free to resistant. Naturally, the
iPad 2 can be rapidly switched between a vertical
and horizontal format. The adjustment is easy
and slip prevented. Working in tandem with the
K&M holder is the stand holder! The new mount
is guaranteed to hold the iPad 2 effectively and
safely on stage or wherever you’re making music.
www.trc.com.au

There aren’t too many local manufacturers in the
Australian music industry, and those that do operate
on home turf don’t get anywhere near the recognition
they deserve. Jade Sound Systems has been in
operation since the 60s and continues to produce
a high quality, affordable range of gear from guitar
amps and mixers to microphones, instruments and
accessories. Anyone who attended last year’s Entech
show would have witnessed Jade’s Rare Audio range
which includes the impressive Tour ‘Combo’ Series.
The Tour ‘Combo’ Series are single-sub, compact
versions of the standard ‘Tour’ Systems. Designed
as small lightweight PA Systems, they are easy to
operate and feature a powerful punchy sound. The
Subwoofer contains Active Bi-Amps with seperate
Sub Volume & Twin Volume controls for the left and
right speakers. Perfect for solo entertainers, small
bands, corporate functions and DJ applications.
The systems comes with 3 year warranty.
www.jadeaustralia.com.au

www.musiclink.com.au

MACKIE DL1608 16CHANNEL DIGITAL
LIVE SOUND
MIXER WITH IPAD
CONTROL

REVOLUTIONARY
NEUTRIK
“TIMBREPLUG”

The Mackie DL1608 turns live mixing on its
head by combining the traditional power of a
full-featured digital mixer with the ease and
flexibility of an iPad. With 16 Onyx mic preamps
and the performance of 24bit Cirrus LogicAD/
DA converters, you have unparalleled sound
quality. Seamless wired to wireless iPad control
means you can mix from anywhere in the venue.
This gives you the mobile freedom to control not
only the mix, but powerful plug-ins such as EQ,
dynamics, effects and more. The sleek DL1608
even supports up to 10 iPad devices. Imagine
a world free of bulky consoles and racks of
gear! Other features include; 6 aux sends for
monitor mixes, master L/R output for mains,
touch-sensitive plug-ins, 4-band EQ, gate and
compression on inputs, and wireless mixing.

For the busy musician with songwriting, gigs,
gear and recording on their mind, often the
smaller, but important things get forgotten ... like
a decent 1/4 inch jack! The Neutrik timbrePLUG
is a 1/4 jack plug that has been developed for
performing musicians – and the idea behind it
as brilliant as it is simple. Neutrik’s engineers
recognised that an electric guitar’s sound is not
only influenced by the instrument itself (pickups,
strings, timber etc) but also by the choice of
connection cable and amplifier. Different types
and lengths of instrument cable can noticeably
influence a guitar’s characteristic sound. Fitting
the timbrePLUG to the instrument end of the
cable allows musicians to adjust the ‘timbre’
of their guitar sound from a neutral, clear
sound to warm characteristics in four steps by
simply turning a knob on the top of the plug.

www.musiclink.com.au

www.ambertech.com.au

www.lightsounds.com.au

42 • THE DRUM MEDIA

LOCALLY MADE RARE
AUDIO TOUR SERIES

SOUNDCRAFT SI
COMPACT 24 DIGITAL
LIVE SOUND CONSOLE
UPGRADES
At Winter NAMM in January, Soundcraft enhanced
their already impressive Si Compact 24 Digital
Live Sound Console with a whole bunch of new
features via a free V2 software upgrade. The
addition includes over 23 major new updates. The
new version offers eight additional DSP channels,
expanding the Si Compact 16 and Si Compact
24 to 32 and 40 inputs to mix, respectively.
The Si Compact 24 features 24 recallable
mic pre amps plus 4 stereo returns, AES in
and 64 input option slot with a capacity to
combine up to 40 of these inputs to mix.
www.jands.com.au

HIT THE LIGHTS’
INVICTA
THE POP PUNK OUTFIT FROM
OHIO, KICK IT UP A NOTCH,
WORKING ON THEIR THIRD
ALBUM WITH PRODUCERS
MACHINE (FOUR YEAR STRONG,
COBRA STARSHIP) AND MIKE
SAPONE (TAKING
BACK SUNDAY).

OUT 24 FEBRUARY
ON 3WISE

PASSENGER’S
ALL THE LITTLE LIGHTS
UK SINGER/SONGWRITER MIKE
ROSENBERG ADOPTED THE NAME
PASSENGER AND MADE A NEW HOME
IN AUSTRALIA. SINCE THEN HE’S
RECORDED WITH BOY & BEAR AND
LIOR AND TOURED WITH JOHN BUTLER
AND JOSH PYKE. ALBUM NUMBER
THREE HAS DRAWN COMPARISONS TO
CAT STEVENS.

OUT 24 FEBRUARY ON IE
THROUGH INERTIA

NOW AT
THEMUSIC.COM.AU
HEMUSIC.COM.AU
• KEEP ON TOP OF THE
EVER-CHANGING
FESTIVAL LANDSCAPE •
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AND PROFILES OF
FESTIVAL ARTISTS •
• TRACK ALL THE SIDESHOWS •
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NOW AT
THEMUSIC.COM.AU

LAST WEEK YOUR DAIL
LY SPA
WAS FIRST WITH:
• A LOOK AT THE HI-FI’S NEW SYDNEY VENUE
• STREAMING NEW ALBUMS FROM THE MENZINGERS & THE SMOKING HEARTS
• NEIL FINN COVERING BOB DYLAN

SUBSCRIBE NOW AT THEMUSIC.COM.AU TO GET
ALL THE LATEST DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX

• AN ONLINE HUB
FOR THE ANNUAL
AUSTRALIAN MUSIC PRIZE •
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POINT FOR ARTISTS •
• TRACK THIS YEAR’S
PARTICIPATING ALBUMS •
• UPDATED AMP NEWS •
• ARCHIVE OF PREVIOUS
SHORTLISTS AND WINNERS •

Drum Media Perth Issue #276

The Drum Media entered the Perth landscape with a view to bring the ethos of its iconic East Coast brothers to the vibrant music scene that had developed in Perth. For past 18 months, The Drum Media has been covering every inch of the entertainment scene, profiling international performers and events and, most importantly, fostering Australian art and artists. Published and read by over 80,000 people weekly, The Drum Media is distributed to over 800 carefully targeted pubs, clubs, cafes and stores throughout greater Perth. With a primary focus on the 17-35 demographic, The Drum Media specialises in contemporary popular music – rock, punk, metal, blues and roots as well as a comprehensive coverage of arts and culture. There’s also Members Only, the bible for what’s happening in the Perth dance scene. In-depth features, profiles and reviews by some of the country’s leading journalists, specialist columns and an exhaustive gig guide make for essential weekly reading for Perth’s youth.